The Armenian government today approved a draft bill raising the monthly minimum wage by 13,000 drams to 68,000 drams ($142).

My Step Alliance MPs Babken Tunyan and Varazdat Karapetyan authored the bill, though they were suggesting a lower amount - 63,000 drams.

Justifying the raise, the MPs said that the current minimum wage isn’t sufficient to purchase the minimum consumer basket of goods.

"A salary of 55,000 drams doesn’t allow citizens to meet most demanding needs. Plus, if we take into consideration that in most cases only one of the family members has a job, the issue of survival comes to the fore,”  the MPs said

First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Gemafin Gasparyan referred to a recent study conducted by the ministry to assess the socioeconomic regularity of the minimum wage. As a result, it was decided to that the minimum wage be set at 68,000 drams instead of 63,000.

The bill will now be debated at the National Assembly.