Nane Asatryan. “I did not think that I would ever be forced to defend my labor rights”

It seems that the rights of pregnant women working in Armenia are sufficiently protected by law, but there are still cases when the guarantees provided by law do not work – the rights of pregnant women are violated by employers. Even pregnant women in leadership positions are not immune to such abuses, as happened to Nane Asatryan, the former deputy governor of Vayots Dzor.

The news that she was fired at the suggestion of the current governor of Vayots Dzor Ararat Grigoryan was unexpected for the deputy governor Nane Asatryan, who is in the 6th month of her pregnancy and has a minor child. The dismissal was substantiated by the RA Prime Minister’s decision N 713-A, which states that according to Article 9, Part 9 of the RA Law on Public Service, Nane Asatryan is relieved of the post of Deputy Governor. According to the above-mentioned law, the position of deputy governor is a discretionary position, the appointment and dismissal of which is carried out at the suggestion of the governor. Meanwhile, according to Article 114, Clause 2.1 of the RA Labor Code, “Termination of an employment contract on the initiative of the employer is prohibited with pregnant women, from the date of submitting the pregnancy certificate to the employer until one month after the end of pregnancy and maternity leave.”

It should be noted that this provision is part of a pro-family state policy; it pursues at least three possible goals: to support the improvement of demographic indicators, to encourage women to enter the labor market, to ensure gender-sensitive approaches in the field of work.

– I suffered a lot, because I had to go on a physical vacation in twenty days. I did not receive any vacation pay when I was fired, not even during the local elections when I was replacing the governor. I received a final payment in the amount of one salary one-time childbirth allowance. The main reason for my appeal was that my child and I should have received the statutory childcare allowance that I lost because of my dismissal. “I have suffered significantly financially, in the amount of about 1.5 million AMD,” says Nane.

Nane Asatryan applied to the court to restore her rights, but the court of first instance, citing the RA Law on Public Service, rejected the appeal. According to Tiruhi Vardanyan, Nane Asatryan’s lawyer and lawyer of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor office, they do not agree with the court decision, so they appealed to the Administrative Court of Appeal, asking to overturn the decision or send it for a new examination.

According to the lawyer, in the case of Nane Asatryan, there is no justification for dismissing her, only the governor’s proposal was presented as a basis.

In a conversation with WomenNet.am, Nane Asatryan says that she has held the position of deputy governor since 2018. She worked with three governors. Prior to the appointment of Trdat Sargsyan, the former governor of Vayots Dzor, she was also acting governor for a short time.

According to N. Asatryan, she worked with three regional governors, with whom she had no disagreements, did not strive for heights in politics, and actively tried to be useful to the region. However, she was convinced that the activity of a female official by official men is not always “digested”.

According to Nane Asatryan, the number of smart, active and knowledgeable women politicians should increase, every woman or girl should be convinced that regardless of her status, she can influence political decisions. Nane does not rule out the possibility of returning to politics.

Full text in Armenian