The meeting started with the welcome speech of the Deputy Director of the ILO Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Mikhail Pouchkin. He briefly presented the main activities of the Project since the last PAC held in February 2022.

Mikhail Pouchkin particularly emphasized the support provided by the ILO PILRAT Project to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the RA for the development of an adapted Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) model. The model has been submitted to the Government of the RA for consideration and possible approval.

Within the framework of the Project the ILO has signed a contract with the Academy of Justice of the RA to introduce two blended learning courses (on International Labour Law and Domestic Labour Law) into their Curriculum. This component includes stakeholders and beneficiaries such as the Association of Judges of the RA and RA Chamber of Advocates. Social Partners will also be consulted in due course.

58 labour inspectors have improved their capacities through training workshops facilitated by the Project, including through the ILO International Training Center in Turin.

Ruben Sargsyan, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and Chairperson of the PILRAT PAC, noted progress regarding the approval of the Labour Law amendments  by the Government of the RA and the progress in the introduction of the ADR system.

Gagik Makaryan, President of the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia, and Elen Manaseryan, Chairperson of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia, emphasized the importance of social dialogue, and praised their successful collaboration within the framework of the PILRAT project.

Erik Markovs, Economic Officer of the Embassy of the United States of America in Yerevan, noted the Project’s importance in improving labour law compliance and labour justice in Armenia.

During the meeting, PILRAT Project progress and main challenges were highlighted by . Nver Sargsyan, Project Coordinator, and Elmira Bakhshinyan, M&E Officer. Among major progress, the initiatives for the development of the curriculum of international labour law and national labour law for judges and legal practitioners were highlighted.

Antonio Santos, Labour Administration, Labour Inspection and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Specialist, ILO Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, made a presentation entitled  “Main gaps and recommendations regarding the labour inspection system in Armenia“.  An agreement has been reached with key stakeholders to develop a roadmap for the implementation of recommendations of the gaps assessment, aiming at reaching higher compliance with the ILO Labour Inspection Convention (No. 81).

As a result of the discussions, a final decision on the Electronic Case Management System (ECMS), mobile application and chatbot consultant on labour rights was made. The participants agreed to develop an action plan for the implementation of the recommendations, based on gap analysis.

The ILO Project on Promoting Implementation of Labour Rights in Armenia Together is funded by the United States Department of Labour (USDOL).