Armenian parliament adopts law on funded pensions

June 21, 2014 - 16:45 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - By 67 to 0, with no abstentions, Armenia’s National Assembly has approved, in the first reading, the draft amendments to the law on funded pensions.

The procedure was marred by tensions, with the parliamentary majority and opposition forces insulting each other, Tert.am reports.

Before the vote, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Artem Adatryan said that the document underwent certain changes; specifically the ‘mandatory funded pension’ term was replaced by ‘funded pension’.

When the parliament speaker Galust Sahakyan asked the MPs to vote, the representatives of four non-coalition forces left the assembly hall, stating the bill was approved with violations of the rules of procedure.

“We demand that our rights are respected. When the MPs ask for a 20-minute break, the request should be satisfied,” member of ARF Dashnaktsutyun Aghvan Vardanyan said.

Another ARFD member, Artsvik Minasyan said that the ARFD parliamentary group boycotted the vote in line with the party’s position on the matter. He also accused the majority of violating the NA charter and forging the voting results.

The opposition parties issued a joint statement regarding violations during the voting process. “We declare the voting results invalid and will continue our struggle,” Naira Zohrabyan of Prosperous Armenia party said, when presenting the document.

Meanwhile, ARFD proposed 15 basic principles for creation of a new pension system in Armenia.