Copy of Dangerous Working Conditions

Astghik karapetyan

Dangerous Work

10 accidents resulting in death were registered in working places in Armenia, 2022

As a result of the search operations following the “Surmalou” explosion 16 bodies were found. One person is still considered missing. 63 people were hospitalised with different injuries.

This year, on 14 August, at 1։23 p.m., an explosion took place in the “Surmalou” Shopping Center located at 15 Arshakunyats Street in Yerevan. As a result of the fire that followed, the three-story building partly collapsed.

According to the statement released by the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the fire was isolated on 16 August, at 2:38 p.m., and extinguished at 5:49 p.m. The area where the fire was extinguished and rescue operations were carried out was around 1 hectare. The biggest part of the three-story building (2,889 square metres) and a number of booths nearby collapsed.

․․․ there’s no salvation here

22-year-old Vachagan Yeghoyan was not a permanent employee at the “Surmalou” Shopping Centre. Sometimes he would go there to help his father’s friend with his work in the shop. His mother, Nazelie Yeghoyan, says that he used to go there every two days, and he went there on that day. It was 14 August.

During the explosion Vachagan was in the warehouse, and he called his business partner. “My Vacho told her, “I won’t be saved, there’s no salvation here.” His last words were, “Tell my mom and dad that I love them very much,” says his mother.

Although Vachagan was not an actor by training, he had started an acting career in Armenian TV series.

“They had seen his photos on the Internet and invited him. He didn’t say no, he loved being involved in everything. He used to say, “You’ll see how famous I’m going to be.” He had a lot of goals. The day before the explosion they kept calling him until 2 a.m. (for filming). On that day, my husband’s friend wasn’t there, so he couldn’t leave.”

Nazeli Yeghoyan tells about the conversation with his son before the explosion and other details related to the incident.

After the explosion the dance of Vachagan and one of the Surmalou employees went viral. They both died.

Accidents in the Workplace

RA Health and Labour Inspection Body state that they receive data about accidents in the workplace from employers, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the Investigation Committee. Based on the information received, the Inspection Body initiates administrative proceedings, in the course of which research is conducted on accidents and occupational diseases in the workplace, in addition to analysis of the data and sending ordinances to employers to prevent them. In addition, oversight is carried out with regard to provision of compensation for damages inflicted on the employees.

From the perspective of workers’ safety, the riskiest sectors are mining, construction, and all kinds of manufacturing sites. According to Ashot Harutyunyan, the last two deaths on construction sites occurred as a result of falling down from high places.

In these sectors, apart from the inspections, which are carried out based on emergency calls, planned inspections are also carried out from time to time. In order to create a safe environment, not only ordinances are used, but also coercion of employers and imposing fines.

Ashot Harutyunyan
Head of the Department of Control over Preservation of Workers’ Health and Ensuring Safety, RA Health and Labour Inspection Body

This year 4 deaths in the workplace and 6 cases where health was damaged resulted from the explosion in the “Surmalou” Shopping Centre.

— RA Health and Labour Inspection Body

On 26 August, four people were charged in the case of the explosion: two under Part 2 of Article 357 of the Criminal Code (violation of fire safety rules or requirements, which negligently caused a person’s death or other serious consequences), two under Part 2 of Article 165 (negligently depriving two or more persons of their lives).

Three of the four defendants are the operators of the warehouse (where the explosion took place), the fourth one is the Deputy Director of "Surmalou," who is at large.

There are no other significant developments in the criminal case.

Avag Lalayan

Lawyer
Represents the representative of two victims of the “Surmalou” case

The injured party has quite well-founded fears that the investigation is not being conducted properly and that there is inactivity. On the other hand, the work done by the people responsible for ensuring safety should be studied and evaluated. The injured parties are entitled to know which bodies were supposed to prevent that. An objective and comprehensive investigation should be conducted.

Other Violations of Labour Law

“Every worker, according to the law, has a right to healthy, safe, and dignified working conditions, work limited to maximum hours, daily and weekly rest, as well as a right to paid yearly vacation.”

— RA Constitution

The Armenian legislation defines sufficient guarantees for the protection of labour rights. And if employers follow legislative regulations more often than they actually do, the number of violations of law will be significantly lower. Unfortunately, the situation is different in practice. We have law violations ranging from cases of discrimination to failure to sign employment agreements, illegal termination of employment agreements, etc. And nowadays the efficient way to protect violated labour rights is to go to court, which is quite time-consuming and even requires financial resources in some cases.

Gevorg Sloyan

Lawyer

Statistical Data on Labour Rights

Employment Agreement

16,7% of the respondents don’t have an employment agreement, and in the case of 13,9% only a hiring order was issued.

When work relations are not legally stipulated, workers are deprived of the chance to be protected by the labour legislation. In such cases employers do not make efforts to ensure decent working conditions and appropriate treatment.

Work during non-working days and hours

7,2% of the respondents mentioned that they work overtime every day. However, only 28,4% are paid for this overtime work.

7,8% of the respondents work in shifts for 24 hours a day. 39,2% of those working at night have never received compensation.

27,5% of the respondents almost always or often work on non-working days, and another 26,8% do this rarely. 54,4% of them have indicated that such days are considered regular working days, which are not paid for additionally.

Vacation Right

9,8% of workers are not aware that have a right to have a paid annual vacation, and half of them know nothing about its duration and conditions.

They are not well aware of how their salary is calculated. In addition, they have no idea what they should or can do when carrying out work that is not included in their employment or verbal agreements.
Employees aren’t always able to express their dissatisfaction with working conditions, working relations, work compensation, salary or other matters.

The above quotes are from the research entitled “Results of the Research on the State of Labour Rights Protection,” which was conducted by the Advanced Public Research Group (APR Group) in February 2022 and has been published this year. The research was conducted among 1,062 workers in Yerevan and all the regions of Armenia.

Experience shows that people often learn about their rights after they have been violated. When, for example, an employer refuses to give a caregiver of a seriously ill person the time off he/she is entitled to, the employee begins to ask around whether the management is doing the right thing. It is necessary to inform people about legal regulations and rights. In that case, there will be significantly fewer violations. And, on the other hand, it is important that the state properly fulfill its obligations to protect those rights. In general, not only well-written, but also effective laws are needed for the protection of rights.

Gevorg Sloyan

Lawyer