Women continue to be unprotected in the labor market, the cases of violation of their labor rights are numerous, diverse, related to various issues. According to a survey conducted by the Women’s Rights House NGO on the issue of women’s human rights abuses in the Covid-19 epidemic. The survey was conducted in Shirak region, 100 surveys were conducted within the framework of the sample, 77 of which were working women, and 23 were fired during the first wave of the pandemic, from 16.03.2020-01.03.2021. The problems presented in the research did not actually start during the pandemic, but it has led to their aggravation and detection.
Referring to the results of the survey, WomenNet.am tried to combine them with specific stories about the most common violations of women’s labor rights.
The problem of being registered is one of the most common violations.
According to the survey, the majority of working women, 73% of respondents, were initially registered workers. 17% of the respondents are permanently unregistered employees, who were not initially registered, but 10% of them were registered over time.
Violation of payment terms
In response to the question about the change in the pay period due to the pandemic, 84% of working women respondents said that the pandemic did not affect payroll in any way. 5% said they received their pay for the first month or several months of the pandemic 1-2 months later, but the situation was later resolved, or they were not paid for one or several months at the beginning of the pandemic, but later the previous salary has been restored.
Actual working hours and schedule provided by the contract
According to the results of the dismissal, some employers do not comply with the requirements of the norms on working hours. Employees continue to work longer hours than the working hours provided for by the RA legislation.
Illegal practice of deprivation of leave
During the investigation, it was found that some employers violated the employees’ right to rest time, in particular, to take annual leave. Most working women have had that opportunity, but due to various circumstances some have not been able to exercise that right.
This Article was prepared in the frames of the “Strengthening Women’s Participation in the Workforce” project implemented by OxYGen Foundation in cooperation with Solidarity Center in Armenia.
