Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to participate in the discussion of the performance report of the Ministry.

Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, Chief of the Prime Minister's Staff Arayik Harutyunyan, Minister of Finance Tigran Khachatryan, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan, Head of the State Revenue Service Romanos Petrosyan, officials of the Prime Minister's Staff, the management staff of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and other officials participated in the consultation.

Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan and the deputy ministers presented the works done according to the sectors.

Regarding the programs aimed at improving the demographic situation, it was reported that the state support program for the birth of the 3rd and each consecutive baby (until the child turns 6 years old) started and continues in the current year, and the state support programs for housing security for families with children continued. From January 1, 2023, child care allowance for children up to 2 years old will also be assigned to city-dwelling non-working mothers. upon returning to work, a payment of 85 percent of the allowance will be maintained, unlike now, when it is suspended. The Demography Strategy is being developed, which will be presented in February 2023.

The volume of non-cash circulation in the field of pension security is increasing. about 77 percent of pensions are paid in non-cash way. From 2023, in villages with more than 1,000 residents, and from 2024, everyone (except those over 75 years old and those with the 1st or 2nd group of disabilities) will receive the pension in a non-cash way. In 2022, the average pension increased from AMD 43,500 to AMD 46,200, and the minimum pension from AMD 26,500 to AMD 31,600. The measure of 10 percent back payment of pension and benefits has started. 4 banks serving pension cards have joined the initiative, whose coverage in non-cash payments is more than 60 percent. According to November data, around 60,000 beneficiaries make purchases of 66 percent of their pension (benefit) non-cash.

In the field of social guarantees, the edited draft of the Republic of Armenia Law "On Social Assistance" was developed, which will allow to respond to the needs in a targetted way and expand the types of services. In order to gradually overcome poverty, around 300 beneficiaries (each) received business grants of up to 1.6 million AMD, pilot programs for providing social emergency aid mechanisms and food cards were launched. A new vulnerability assessment formula and draft concept were developed.

Within the scope of labor and employment sector reforms, from January 1, 2023 the minimum monthly salary will increase: instead of 68,000 AMD, it will be 75,000 AMD. Amendments to the Labor Code are underway. it is planned to amend 125 out of 266 articles. It is planned to circulate the employment strategy in the next year. In 2022, 1179 citizens benefited from the seasonal employment provision program, 326 citizens of Artsakh benefited from the measure of gaining work experience and paid public works, and 276 people from the program for ensuring the employment of participants in military operations of 2016 and 2020.

In the current year, the provision of social services to vulnerable groups continued: children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, women, persons subjected to trafficking and exploitation. In the near future, it is planned to introduce a new system for assessing the person's functionality, which will allow to carry out a multifaceted assessment of the person's needs and provide social services adequate to individual needs.

After the presentation of the report, a discussion was held on current results and future actions in demography, pension security, social support, employment, social care services, and other directions. Summarizing the exchange of ideas, the Prime Minister gave instructions to those in charge.

The Head of the Government instructed to indicate in the Demographic Strategy to be soon presented, the measures that will be aimed the goal of increasing the population to 5 million with the transformation strategy of Armenia until 2050. The Prime Minister also noted the importance of combinability of interdepartmental policies aimed at encouraging fertility and improving the demographic situation.

Regarding the pension security sector, Nikol Pashinyan instructed to continue the programs aimed at increasing the volume of non-cash circulation and ensuring the employment of pensioners.

The Prime Minister referred to the state programs for poverty alleviation and instructed to provide an educational component in them, because the formula for overcoming poverty is first of all education. Among the measures aimed at encouraging work, Nikol Pashinyan also emphasized the legislative regulation of the field of voluntary work, which will contribute to the development of human capital.

The Head of the Government instructed to carry out active public awareness campaign and monitoring of the reforms and programs of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.