YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA National Assembly finished on October 5 work of the regular four-day sittings, leaving unsettled adoption of more than a dozen of drafts and legislative packages as well as certification of 6 international agreements discussed on the same day and on the previous one. The reason was deputy's not enough participation in the sittings: there were only about one dozen of deputies in the hall. Votings will take place at the next four-day sittings to start from October 23. The draft "On Deputy's Pension Security and Social Protection of His Family Members" discussed at the 1st reading arose great activeness at the end of the day, in conditions of not numerous deputies' presence. The draft authored by NA 6 deputies proposes to appoint a deputy's age pension to that deputy having right of age pension who was a deputy of at least 1 convention of the RA NA 2nd or future conventions, is a RA citizen and lives constantly in the country. It is envisaged to appoint the pension size as 75% of RA NA deputy's official basic pay at the mement of the latter's appointment. No payment of pension is envisaged for acting deputies. In words of Rafik Petrosian, a co-author of the draft, the Chairman of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Issues, the draft was worked out, taking into account the economic state of the country, as well as by studying experience of other countries. In essense, deputies worked only according to professional principles will make use of the right on pension. The law will not be spread on deputies of the Supreme Council (1990-1995) and of NA of first convention (1995-1999). The RA Government considers this draft inadmissible. In words of Aghvan Vardanian, the RA Minister of Labour and Social Issues, it does not arise of the pension reforms being implemented in Armenia and of social justice, the fundamental principle of future pension security system. Besides, the draft law "On Pension Security of State Servicemen" is at the stage of working out, within the framework of which problems of deputies' pension security will also be solved. Particularly, the government envisages to fix an additional payment for the latters at the 75% size of the last salary, besides, that money must not surpass five times of civil servicemen's basic salary (35 thousand drams, or about 92 U.S. dollars). The Minister also mentioned that the moral side of the problem exists: the middle size of pension is 11 thousand drams at present in Armenia, and it will become 12.5 thousand drams in 2007. Deputy's salary makes 300 000 drams at present, 75% of which will make 225 thousand drams. It is envisaged to appoint salaray of 420 thousand drams for deputies in 2007. 75% of it will make 315 thousand drams. To recap, members of the "ULP" faction were strictly against adoption of the draft.

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