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REFORM REVOLT: RALLY AGAINST MANDATORY PENSION LAW HAS POLITICAL TONE FOLLOWING KOCHARYAN REMARKS
PENSIONS | 17.01.14 | 23:31
By Gohar Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
"Against Mandatory Pension Fund" civil movement is planning another
rally-march on Saturday, to once again raise public awareness on the
"anti-constitutional, anti-social provisions in the law", demonstrate
their "readiness for a united, well-organized fight and determination
to the RA authorities, as well as demand from the Constitutional Court
(CC) to suspend and declare it anti-constitutional".
According to the new pension plan to come into effect this month,
those born after January 1, 1974, that is, employed citizens of
Armenia under 40 years of age, will have to transfer five percent
of their salaries to their personal retirement savings fund - one
of their preference. The state will transfer as much every month,
meaning that the citizen will have the total monthly savings equal
to 10 percent of his/her salary, however the state payment will not
exceed 25,000 drams ($62). Opponents to the law insist they cannot
trust five percent of their salaries to pension funds, saying they
have no hope the money accumulated over the years would be returned
to them when the time comes. Besides, they believe the mandatory
component violates citizens' rights and contradicts the Constitution.
The four oppositional factions -- the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Dashnaktsutyun (ARF), Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), Heritage and
the Armenian National Congress -- turned to the Constitutional
Court in December with a similar motion to declare the new law
anti-constitutional and suspend the application of the law; the CC
has to make a respective decision by January 25.
However, state officials, among them the top leadership, including
the President and the Prime Minister, support the law and do not
intend postponing its application.
"It is understandable that there is also resistance and opposition. It
should not be taken too critically as any reform meets resistance.
Society, especially civil society, has to be as such. Any action,
any compulsion has to first of all be met with resistance, while the
authorities have to be better prepared to use that tool of compulsion,"
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said during his year-end meeting with
the press, adding that the bill has been drafted for ten years and
no better alternative has been found, hence this is the best possible
solution to the retirement pension issue.
Meanwhile, RA second president Robert Kocharyan, during whose term
the pension reform discussions were launched, but the government
then spoke categorically against it, said in an interview to his
non-official website that there is "a high probability of failure at
the cost of losing our citizens' financial means".
In general, the second president's activated appearance has given
grounds to believe that the coming rally will also be of a political
nature, as the two factions opposing the pension reform - PAP and ARF -
are loyal to the second president.
http://armenianow.com/society/pensions/51437/pension_reform_armenia_kocharyan_sargsyan_protest
PENSIONS | 17.01.14 | 23:31
By Gohar Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
"Against Mandatory Pension Fund" civil movement is planning another
rally-march on Saturday, to once again raise public awareness on the
"anti-constitutional, anti-social provisions in the law", demonstrate
their "readiness for a united, well-organized fight and determination
to the RA authorities, as well as demand from the Constitutional Court
(CC) to suspend and declare it anti-constitutional".
According to the new pension plan to come into effect this month,
those born after January 1, 1974, that is, employed citizens of
Armenia under 40 years of age, will have to transfer five percent
of their salaries to their personal retirement savings fund - one
of their preference. The state will transfer as much every month,
meaning that the citizen will have the total monthly savings equal
to 10 percent of his/her salary, however the state payment will not
exceed 25,000 drams ($62). Opponents to the law insist they cannot
trust five percent of their salaries to pension funds, saying they
have no hope the money accumulated over the years would be returned
to them when the time comes. Besides, they believe the mandatory
component violates citizens' rights and contradicts the Constitution.
The four oppositional factions -- the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Dashnaktsutyun (ARF), Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), Heritage and
the Armenian National Congress -- turned to the Constitutional
Court in December with a similar motion to declare the new law
anti-constitutional and suspend the application of the law; the CC
has to make a respective decision by January 25.
However, state officials, among them the top leadership, including
the President and the Prime Minister, support the law and do not
intend postponing its application.
"It is understandable that there is also resistance and opposition. It
should not be taken too critically as any reform meets resistance.
Society, especially civil society, has to be as such. Any action,
any compulsion has to first of all be met with resistance, while the
authorities have to be better prepared to use that tool of compulsion,"
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said during his year-end meeting with
the press, adding that the bill has been drafted for ten years and
no better alternative has been found, hence this is the best possible
solution to the retirement pension issue.
Meanwhile, RA second president Robert Kocharyan, during whose term
the pension reform discussions were launched, but the government
then spoke categorically against it, said in an interview to his
non-official website that there is "a high probability of failure at
the cost of losing our citizens' financial means".
In general, the second president's activated appearance has given
grounds to believe that the coming rally will also be of a political
nature, as the two factions opposing the pension reform - PAP and ARF -
are loyal to the second president.
http://armenianow.com/society/pensions/51437/pension_reform_armenia_kocharyan_sargsyan_protest