By Gohar Movsisyan

Employees of the defunct Kimprom chemical plant in Vanadzor yet again took to the streets demanding several months of back wages they say they are owed.

This time, former employees gathered in the yard of Vanadzor Thermal Power Plant (VTTP), another privatized Soviet industrial holdover up for sale, whose employees were also demanding back wages.

Employees say that the ministry of justice phoned to say that the matter is out of their hands.

Some 130 former employees are owed 100 million AMD in back wages.

Edik Hounanyan, Director of VTPP, confirmed statements made by protesting workers that some company equipment was being sold off, adding that it was only equipment deemed superfluous for a future relaunch of operations.

Hounanyan told Hetq that he was hopeful that a new thermal electric power station scheduled to be built near Vanadzor at a cost of $220 million would solve some of the problems.

“Now, we must be concerned with creating a new, younger pool of employees. I’m talking about chemists, mechanics, energy experts, etc. The people who worked in VTTP are in their sixties and seventies. They cannot operate the new technologies; neither physically or mentally,” said Hounanyan.