Employees of Tsarukyan's enterprises demanded to resume their work.

A week after the suspension of the enterprises of the arrested head of "Prosperous Armenia" Gagik Tsarukyan, their work has not yet resumed, said the participants of the protest, noting that they risk being left without means of livelihood.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", employees of the "Araratcement" plant owned by the leader of "Prosperous Armenia" Gagik Tsarukyan demanded to open the enterprise, which had been sealed for several days. The plant director, after negotiations with law enforcement, reported that he received permission to resume work. Pashinyan threatened to fire employees of the enterprise for participating in the protests.

Employees of the enterprises owned by Gagik Tsarukyan held protests. The companies owned by the leader of the Prosperous Armenia party are sealed, leaving thousands of employees without work: people demand to be allowed to work, writes Yerevan Today.

"Our demand is to give us the opportunity to work," said one of the employees of the "Ararat" wine and brandy factory, owned by Gagik Tsarukyan.

"We haven't worked for a week, and no one is saying anything specific. Our request is for all of us to return to work," the woman noted.

"I am from Artsakh, I live in a rented apartment, we haven't worked for a week, is the government going to solve our issue?" said another protest participant.

The participants of the protest stated that employees should not suffer due to law enforcement claims against the owner of the companies and called on the authorities to allow the enterprises to resume work. According to the employees of "Multi Stone", on July 6 they came to work, but the gates of the enterprise were sealed. Workers stated that they have been in forced downtime for eight days and have not received explanations about the timeline for resuming work. After the protest, the employees headed to the Abovyan investigative department and stated their intention to block the Yerevan - Sevan highway if their demands are not met and the plant does not resume work as soon as possible, writes Armenia Today.

"If they have questions for Tsarukyan, let them discuss them with him. What do the employees have to do with this?" said the participants of the protest.

According to them, the suspension of the enterprises is politically motivated, and its consequences affect ordinary employees, not the owner of the companies.

Employees of the Yerevan brandy-wine-vodka factory "Ararat" demanded to allow the enterprise to continue working alongside the investigative actions. According to one of the employees, more than 500 workers have been left without income, and the consequences of the plant's shutdown have affected about 1500 of their family members. She reminded that many of the employees left without income have families to support and are paying off loans. According to her, the management of the factory cannot explain to people when the enterprise will open.

"The people are not to blame for anything; there is no need to vent anger on them. Everything needs to be done in a much more civilized manner," she said.

We were sent home not by the employer. This is being done at the state level, so the state bears the responsibility.

She called on the state authorities to hear the employees and not leave people without means of livelihood. Another employee of the factory stated that the employees support Tsarukyan, but the main issue for them remains the preservation of jobs. She reminded that the enterprise continued to operate even during the coronavirus pandemic and called for legal procedures to be conducted without upheavals for the economy and the population.

"We were sent home not by the employer. This is being done at the state level, so the state bears the responsibility," she stated.

Security service employees also warned of production risks. According to them, due to high temperatures, raw materials may spoil, and the lack of access for specialists to equipment and containers with alcohol increases the risk of accidents. They called for personnel to be allowed into the enterprise to monitor technological processes.

The participants of the protest addressed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan with a demand to allow them to return to their workplaces, writes News.Am.

"We ask, we demand from our Prime Minister – interpret this as you wish – to give people the opportunity to work. Everyone has families and loans. We stand and will stand by our leader; this is not even up for discussion. Right now, we are trying to convey our voice to the Prime Minister so that the situation is resolved. If the downtime drags on, time and the course of events will show further steps," said an employee of the wine-brandy enterprise.

Similar protests also took place on July 11, the agency notes.