Arinj Mall workers petition to restore employment rights

PanARMENIAN.Net - Arinj Mall employees have begun collecting signatures demanding restoration of their employment rights and the reopening of retail stalls sealed by law enforcement authorities. The director of one of the outlets operating at the site told Pastinfo about the initiative.

“Today we haven’t done anything; I’m not even at the mall. We have launched a petition, and several people have gone to the Investigative Committee. We still don’t know what response they received,” the director said.

On July 23, Arinj Mall employees held a protest after law enforcement officers sealed their stalls, disrupting their normal work.

The outlet director said the petition is intended to secure the reopening of the sealed retail premises.

“That’s why we are collecting signatures — so that they resolve the issue, because we don’t want it to close, and we don’t want to abandon our shops. We want to work in our shops,” the director said, stressing that the situation is paralyzing employers’ operations while leaving employees’ status uncertain.

Arinj Mall is owned by businessman and Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan, who is currently in custody. The doors of companies belonging to him have been sealed, leaving their employees in forced downtime.

The Investigative Committee has explained why some retail stalls and other structures at the Arinj Mall shopping center were sealed.

“Considering that some unauthorized structures, the parking area and part of the adjacent retail stalls on the 3.5-hectare land plot in Arinj are located directly beneath high-voltage power transmission lines, and their continued operation poses a danger to citizens’ lives and health, the body conducting the proceedings sealed them for safety reasons,” the statement said.