On June 3, 2005, Armen Sahakyan, Chairman of the Lernagorts Union of the Sotk mine employees, went to work as usual, but was denied access to the premises. He discovered that he was one of twenty-four employees whom Sterlite Gold, an Indian Company operating the Sotk mine, had fired in connection with a strike begun in the previous month, on May 11. Eleven of these employees are the members of the Leganorts Union. Sahakyan went home to find a notice mailed to him by the company, which stated: “Your employment is terminated as of May 12, 2005 , due to absenteeism without good cause, pursuant to Article 36.4 of Armenian Labor Code. You are being invited to receive the balance of your wages.”

However, Article 17 of the Armenian Law on Unions states this provision: “Representatives of leaderships of unions have a right under Armenian law to visit the premises where the members of their unions are employed, for the purposes of observing their working conditions, as provided under the law.” Therefore, Sahakyan contends, even though his employment had been terminated, as a union chairman he was still entitled to enter the premises. Besides, he adds, the letter was not addressed properly, mentioned no formal orders, and was not provided with a proper number, as required by law. In addition to the twenty-four employees who were fired, there are eighty-one others with no clear employment status. They had been told to submit new applications after the strike, which they did. But although their applications were accepted, they were not allowed to return to work. “I have worked in Sotk since 1979,” says Mher Shaboyan, a union member. “I sent a new application, as all the others did. They told me I was fired because ‘I talked too much’. All we did was try to protect our rights as employees.”

There have been reports that the management of the company has done everything possible to hamper the establishment of the union even to the extent of offering bribes to union leaders. When they refused to accept any bribes, they were fired. “The miners have not gone to extremes despite the firing of those eleven union members. People were so upset that they even considered making an attempt on the lives of the Indian managers, or destroying their property, since they were showing no concern for the conditions that were forcing miners to strike. However, we managed to prevent such extremes. Now they (the managers) want to terminate the union so they can continue doing what they have been doing up to now”, say union activists.

The media have previously reported on the issues at stake, including reports on the strike at Sotk mine in May, after which the management fired all the employees concerned. The two main demands presented at the time by the Union to the management of the Ararat Gold Recovery Company (AGRC) were first, that management bring the AGRC employment agreements into conformity with Armenian law, and second, that a joint commission be formed to negotiate a collective agreement regulating relations between management and miners on such issues as nature of the work to be performed, protection of labor, and work safety.

The miners submitted these two demands to the management two months before beginning the strike; however, it was only five days after the strike began that management agreed to meet with the employees. The Indian management of the company suggested an end to the strike, with an ongoing discussion of the issues while operations continued. The response of the employees was a decision not to comply with this request, in the absence of a gesture of good faith, since “they (the management) had two months to discuss the demands, and they did nothing.” According to the workers, the Governor of Gegharkunik then tried to involve relevant Government officials in the negotiations, but they refused to participate, leaving the issues to the management to decide. On their part, the management declined a consideration of the miners’ demands for the implementation of rules for work safety, as well as an improvement in working conditions, but did agree to consider a review of the AMD/USD exchange rate (by that time, the AMD had risen against USD by about 25%, significantly decreasing the miners’ real earnings.)

Then the company terminated 463 employment agreements and required those terminated to submit new job applications. At the same time, the company also hired one hundred employees from nearby villages, as a visible demonstration of a large substitute labor pool. Left in these dire straits, and with no other available work opportunities, these former workers were forced to submit new job applications, but this time under even more humiliating conditions. Now, “Their conditions are worse than ours were before,” unemployed workers claim. “There is no reason given for why they were fired and hired back again. They receive salaries that are 33.7% less than they used to receive before the strike. Instead of three-month employment agreements, the management now offers only one-month terms, which is against the law. They fired workers who were receiving salaries of $200 USD, and (re)hired employees who now receive $50 USD.” The present workers say, “On average, they are paying from $100 to $110 per month for drudgery -- just enough for us not to starve so we can continue serving them.”

According to Yevgeni Kojemyakin, Head of the Armenian Union of Miners, Metallurgists and Jewelers, people are not familiar with the laws, and they are simply forced to sign employment contracts which are not in compliance with the Labor Code, and the Law on Compensation, both of which govern this situation. “The work they do is considered of a high-risk nature. No more than 24 days per month work is allowed, while the workers do 190 hours per month. They work two shifts at Sotk, 12 hours per shift, while the maximum allowed working day is 8 hours. Overtime work is not being compensated, while the law stipulates that overtime work must be compensated at a higher wage rate.” Citing other needed union interventions, Kojemyakin continues, “ The company used to operate the Meghradzor mine in four shifts, so the unions had to intervene, since the site required ventilation. Now they do only three shifts there. The company is against the establishment of a union, because the union is trying to ensure normal working conditions for the workers. Further, AGRC refuses to enter into a collective agreement, even though Article 16 of the Law on Unions stipulates that “The employer shall enter into collective agreement with the union of its employees.”

Sotk mine employees claim that the (Indian) management doesn’t just violate the law, it also demeans the workers. And their patience under these conditions is running out. “We don’t feel like human beings in our own country anymore; we are being deprived of our basic rights,” they say. They cite several compelling instances of this. For example, the management may force the electrical worker to fix a tire, or a geologist to lay out an electrical wire. Or this one: Anand, the Indian foreman of the Electromechanical Division, under the threat of firing him, forced a 24-year-old boy to eat the engine oil which he had dripped in the process of changing it.

Union representatives contend that they are the only counter force for a company which chooses to ignore the safety rules. As a result, while in the past, the underground mine averaged only one deadly accident in three years, now three miners have died at the open pit in the last three years of operation, and tens of workers have suffered injuries. It doesn’t take much to build a toilet, but the company refuses to even do that. As a result, five hundred employees, some of them women, are working, eating and taking care of their basic needs in the same small space. There is no drinking water, no water to wash hands, no shower. The company management simply refuses to provide for these basic sanitary needs. As a result, employees become soaked in oil while fixing equipment.

Vardan Vardanyan, Director of Ararat Gold Recovery Company, has deemed the demands of the employees nonsense, especially these last ones, he says. He also claims that the motivation for the strike was a protest against the firing of one worker, and saved four tons of diesel. He claims that the company also caused the local police chief to be fired.

Contradicting Vardanyan’s statements, Hunan Khachatryan, the Deputy Head of Lernagorts Union of Sotk employees, says that the workers must take water with them, since there is no water in the Sotk open pit. He details a horrible consequence of this practice. “I took a bottle from the car where they are usually kept, and drank it. My friend shouted that I had just drunk sulfuric acid, but it was too late, I had already drunk it. I was rushed to a hospital in Yerevan . I received compensation for my medical expenses only after my friends intervened on my behalf. Other petitions for compensation have either been refused, or only partially compensated. My throat feels dry and irritated, I need continued medical care, but I am not able to get it. When we address these issues with the Indian management, they behave as if we are their enemies.” Khachatryan was called back from his medical leave to work. He returned, and worked for fifteen days, but was never paid. Instead, he was provided with a letter in English, which he signed. Then he took the letter and applied for his salary, but was refused his pay on the basis of the contents of that very letter. It was only then that he learned that he had actually signed an agreement (in English) voluntarily giving up his pay for that period.

Over the course of 2004, the Armenian Ombudsman received one hundred thirty claims in cases of employment termination; non- payment or delayed payment for work; uncompensated on –the-job injuries; and professional casualties. The majority of the claims came from the private sector. The Ombudsman’s Report says of this situation, “An analysis of the current situation in labor relations testifies to the en mass violations of employee rights in Armenia , mostly in the private sector. A lack of control in the implementation of labor laws by the relevant Government bodies worsens the situation.” This raises the question: What price private enterprise?

The Ombudsman has lodged complaints with the office of National Security, the Chief Policeman, and the Government, with no luck. So far, they have only been able to get the attention of the Department on Employees of the Social Security Ministry. The Head of this Department, Arsen Grigoryan, said that the Department is currently inspecting all enterprises and structures of the Sterile Gold Company in Armenia . The report is expected to be issued in about a week.

Translation edited by Caroline Van Antwerp