“It turns out we have no right to work, are we out of date”?

In the labor market, discrimination against the middle age is widespread

Our interlocutor is Tamara Grigoryan, who lost her job in January 2012 and has not found a job yet. In 2012, Mrs. Tamara was 51 years old, today, 57, but the main obstacle that hindered her from finding a new job, not only by profession, was age.

“I am a biologist by profession, I had been working at Vanadzor Chemical College for many years, and in parallel, I had been teaching at the school for several years as a biology and chemistry teacher. Then, after training for administrative work, I worked in a private company as a personnel department. Six years ago I lost my job and afterwards I applied to many agencies, one can say that enriched them by paying the necessary amount, but I did not find a job even though my professional skills were such that finding a job would not turn out to be a problem, – she told “WomenNet.

Over the years, applying to job agencies and individual employers, has received one answer: your age does not meet our requirements. They said: “We do not want you to be presented to the employer because they require up to 35 years,” “You’ve been educated in Soviet times, today are totally different requirements”, “We are not interested in your experience, we need a 35 year old employee” or ” You will not endure this work at your age. ” They denied, even insulting. “We will not even take a cleaner of your age.” This phrase, by the way, was made by a well-known and respected company employee during a telephone conversation. Meanwhile, the advertisements of the same company have always been mentioned that employees are required by age 60 and if we believe in it, it turns out that the person answering the statements not only does not have professional ethics and human attitude but also is unaware of the personnel policy of this company…

“To the employees of the employment agencies, whose services are paid, I was asking to hire in the job and if I do not satisfy the employer with my professional qualities or other meanings, I do not have a problem, I will leave because I’m responsible and I will not tolerate poor quality work. But they did not even give me the employer’s contacts at all; they immediately responded sharply that the employer’s demand was young people, “says Mrs. Grigoryan. According to her, in such cases she objected, saying that there is no such point in the RA Labor Code that the employee should be only 35 years old. “In addition, it is a direct violation of my constitutional right, as the Constitution says,” Everyone has the right to free choice of employment. “So the situation that has persecuted me for six years is not only insulting, but also anti-constitutional, “she says.

Mrs. Tamara mentioned that at first she was trying to find a job in accordance with her profession or skills and knowledge, but very soon set aside and tried to find just any job. For example, she tried to work as an advertising agent, but the director of the agency refused to accept her, formulating it as if she would not be able to work because of her age, and even the young people did not endure the tension. This, by the way, was the only case when personally talked with the employer and was denied.

Tamara Grigoryan is also worried about the picture of the overall labor market, according to her, at every step the workers’ rights are violated, they do not protect any of them, and only courts are able to achieve it. Overtime work is widespread, and labor responsibilities often require over-powering efforts, as they keep someone in place of two employees, even in some places there are no even breaks. The young people are not protected, so they change jobs for two to three months and do not endure the tension. These are questions, our interlocutor says, reflecting the poor state of the labor market, which requires immediate solutions.

“I am not a pensioner, but in fact, for many years I cannot find a job. This discrimination against the middle aged people is just offensive, not only for me, but for all the citizens who cannot find a job like me. After all, it turns out that we have no right to work and live, we are overdue, “she says.

By the way, Tamara Grigoryan is going to address a letter to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, believing that the situation in the new Armenia has changed and maybe today’s middle and senior citizens of Armenia are not considered “overdue” and will be able to live decent life until the retirement age. And not looking for a job for many years, feeling that we no longer need our society.