Nairit plant employees spend night outside government building (video)
Former employees of Nairit chemical plant stayed outside the Government building in Yerevan overnight. They started a sit-in outside the building on Thursday demanding their back wages of over 18 months. Talking to A1+, the workers said they spent the night in the open air despite the rain and unfavaourable weather. “None of the government officials came out to talk to us. The police did not try to drive us away from the area. Several activists protesting the rise of electricity tariffs in Armenia spent the night with us,” said one of the Nairit employees. Employees of Nairit chemical plant had come to the government many times, calling the Cabinet’s attention to their problem, but the issue has always been left unaddressed. Nairit Plant CJSC, which produces chloroprene rubber and was considered a giant of its kind during the Soviet era, hasn’t been operating since 2010. Once the giant industrial complex had with 3 000 employees. Only 500 of them work in the plant today, others have been laid off. It is estimated that Nairit owes about $13-15 million in back wages to current and former employees.
