November 23, 2010 - 17:26 AMT
Hakob Hakobyan: only 3% of Armenian women will suffer from amendments to bill

Chairman of the RA Standing Parliamentary Committee for Social Affairs Hakob Hakobyan said that only 3% of Armenian women will suffer as a result of amendments to the bill on Benefits for Temporary Disability.

Amendments to the bill on Benefits for Temporary Disability are introduced based on principles of social justice, Hakobyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. “It is done to provide bigger number of Armenian women with benefits under the bill,” added Hakobyan.

Hakobyan noted that, according to recent calculations, around 3% of women receive salaries above AMD 150,000 in Armenia. “The average salary of women makes around AMD 65,000-70,000 in Armenia, according to 2010 data,” he said.

A group of young women – current and expecting mothers – sent a letter to the Armenian President, urging him not to ratify the bill on Benefits for Temporary Disability and not to stimulate a range of dangerous phenomena in Armenia.

Women used to be paid 100% of their salary as a maternity leave, while the bill envisages a benefit of maximum AMD 150,000.