ArmInfo. Head of the Bright Armenia faction, Edmon Marukyan, expressed his indignation at the secret order of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to raise ministerial salaries. In an interview with reporters on October 22, he noted that he was not against additional payments in the form of bonuses for a job well done. In the case of the commission of the minister, according to him, the problem lies in its secrecy. Calling this circumstance a shame, Marukyan noted that such decisions should be made openly.
<I am shocked that this information was disseminated the day before, and so far no comments have been received from the Government. We will take appropriate measures to identify and provide the public with information about this secret process. Citizens 'funds cannot be spent secretly, unless, of course, we are talking about spending on defense and security>, he stressed.
"We understand that in order to not be corrupt, the minister must receive a normal salary. There are two ways: either change the coefficient of accrued wages, or give out this amount in the form of bonuses. In both cases, I am favor," the MP noted.
To recall, yesterday, the "Hetq" published an article stating that a secret decision by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan significantly increased the salaries of ministers, deputy ministers and general secretaries of ministries. Moreover, an order to increase salaries was given in July this year.
Meanwhile, the wages of public servants are determined by law. According to the RA Law "On Remuneration of Civil Servants", the minister's salary ratio is 12. To get the minister's salary, this number must be multiplied by the base salary of 66,140 drams. The sum is 793 thousand 680 drams, including taxes. Meanwhile, without making any changes to the law, the salary of ministers doubled and amounted to 1.5 million drams.
The same goes for the salaries of deputy ministers and general secretaries. According to the coefficient established by the law, the salary of the deputy minister was supposed to be 562 thousand 160 drams, but in fact it turned out to be equal to 1 million 60 thousand drams. The salary of the Secretary General increased from 595 thousand 260 thousand drams to 870 thousand drams.