Armenia

Following the restructuration in April 2021 of the social security administration in Armenia, which merged municipal services and three state administrations into one, all of which had their own union, the management of the newly created Unified Social Service (USS) decided to cease the application of the check-off agreements and the collection of union dues. This unilateral decision had a disastrous impact on the unions’ finances and their capacity to operate. Despite insistent requests from the presidents of the unions, the issue remained unresolved.

In June 2021, the president of the Union of State, Local Governments and Public Service Employees of Armenia addressed a letter to the mayor of Yerevan, offering to start negotiations on a sectoral collective agreement for the city employees, as provided by the labour code. However, this proposal was bluntly rejected by the city administration. Earlier in the year, the leader of the Yerevan City Hall workers’ union was unlawfully dismissed.