Residents of Azerbaijan describe ways of forcing donations into state funds

Amid a wide public campaign to support the families of the perished and wounded military servicemen, residents of Azerbaijan complain about coercion by employers to donate to the YAŞAT (Give Life) Foundation. A member of the Foundation's Board of Trustees said that such methods are illegal and recommended going to court.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 8, 2020, the YAŞAT Foundation was established by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan with the aim to help the families of the perished military servicemen and those who became disabled as a result of hostilities.

According to an employee of one of the companies connected with the authorities, after the creation of the YAŞAT Foundation, the bosses of the company offered to deduct one percent of employees' salaries into the Foundation. "We've all agreed; of course, the families of those dead and wounded should be supported. But then they demanded from us to transfer half of our next salary there. For me, this is beyond my capability; I have a large family, and I cannot donate so much at once," the resident of Azerbaijan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

After the employee was threatened with losing his job, he "wrote a resignation application on his own free will." However, he hopes that in the end he will keep his job.

A nurse working in a hospital of one of the state agencies told on condition of anonymity that the hospital staff were not paid the traditional annual premium, which was transferred to the YAŞAT Foundation. "We don't mind money to support the families of shaheeds (martyrs, perished soldiers) and wounded ones who have become disabled. But everyone should determine the size of the donation him/herself to the best of his/her capacity," said the young woman.

Rena Safaralieva, a member of the Board of Trustees of the YAŞAT Foundation, has noted that donations are exclusively voluntary. "If, somewhere, employers are forcing their employees to transfer money against their will, then it's illegal. And it is even more illegal to fire people for this. I would recommend in such cases to fight this collectively," Ms Safaralieva explained that she meant lawsuits.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 7, 2021 at 11:52 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.