ZCMC management ready to change payment terms 

ArmInfo. The management of the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC) Plant, acting as a guarantor to its employees, undertakes obligations, confirming that changes in the terms of remuneration, medical insurance and improvement of working conditions will be implemented within the established time frame, the company's statement reads. 

The document emphasizes that the work on revising wages began in September 2024. This system includes taking into account work experience, qualifications and taking into account the increase in tariff rates. As a result of the already begun process of increasing wage rates, the total wage fund will increase by an average of 20%. The management will implement a new wage system at the main  production facilities within a month from the date of resumption of production.

Taking into account numerous written and oral complaints received on health insurance issues, the management of ZCMC will announce an open tender on February 17 and select a new insurance company that will provide high-quality services in accordance with the requirements of employees.

In recent years, ZCMC has been conducting technical audits of  existing systems and projects. The audit was completed in December 2024, after which the process of designing and purchasing new systems began.  The company guarantees that modern, highly efficient ventilation and aspiration systems will be installed at the main production facilities no later than the end of 2025.

"Dear employees, we urge you to return to your workplaces. We can achieve these goals and solve these problems together. ZCMC is a close-knit team, and our common goal is the effective operation of the plant for the benefit of the well-being of employees, the development of the region and the prosperity of Armenia," ZCMC said in a statement. 

Some of the ZCMC employees have announced a strike and are demanding a 50% salary increase. ZCMC CJSC considered these demands as unrealistic, and the actions of the strikers as going beyond the Labor Code. The company has been at the top of the list of 1000 largest taxpayers in Armenia for the third year in a row.

The company sent about 102 billion drams to the state treasury for 2024 (with an annual growth of 44%), of which 2.2 billion drams are customs duties, 30.2 billion drams are direct taxes (including profit tax, income tax), 2.7 billion drams are indirect taxes (including VAT, excise tax).

Last December, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reported on his Facebook page that ZCMC transferred 33 billion 249 million drams to the state budget as government dividends. "Please note that this is plus the taxes paid as a share of the profit, because since 2021 the government is a shareholder of ZCMC, as I promised," the Prime Minister noted.

Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine CJSC (ZCMC) is the largest mining company in Armenia. The plant operates the Kajaran copper-molybdenum deposit. The plant's ore supply is about 150 years.