On 8 October, 2015 at the UN office in Yerevan a conference on the theme "Consequences of labor migration" took place and our company was also invited to take part in. The conference was organized by the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia (RUEA).

With an introductory speech the president  of RUEA Gagik Makaryan opened the conference, after which Edgar Khachatryan, the chief specialist of the Migration Policy Division of  Migration State Service under the Ministry of Territorial Administration and the Emergency Situationsof RA, continued the conference. In his report Mr. Khachatryan noted that Armenia could provide jobs for 85% of its citizens, and only 15% of the population remains unemployed nevertheless, the migration rate continued to be high. Then he pointed out that the labor migration besides the negative aspects also has positive ones, after which he mentioned the advantages of Armenia's accession into  the EAEC from the viewpoint of labour migration  representing the facilitated mechanisms of labour migration for the EAEC countries. In Mr. Khachatryan's opinion there is also another positive tendency: in contrast to previous years  during 2012-2015 the majority of migrants as a main cause of migration mentions not the  lack of work but the low salary.

 

Ms. Serena Fusco, the project manager of The International Committee for the Development of Peoples (CISP), continued the conference with her report noting that despite the fact that Mr. Khachatryan highlighted the positive aspects of labor migration, it shouldn’t be forgotten that the negative aspects of labor migration are much more than the positive ones and that any country providing migrants loses more than it receives. 

After all the reports extensive discussion began, then Ms. Hranush Kharatyan, the ethnographer, expressed concern about the fact that many citizens taking loans from different Armenian banks, particularly business loans, did not use them for their intended purpose but spent them on travel costs for seasonal work and then returning they repaid the loans. As a result, according to the bank documents, the person has fulfilled his/her obligation on time, but the fact that the provided loans were not used for the intended purposes but on the contrary contributed to the promotion of labor migration could not be seen in any bank document. 

During the event, the sociologist Mr. Aharon Adibekyan, the director of independent sociological center "Sociometer", also spoke stating that the labor migration should be encouraged and it is not necessarily to develop and strengthen the nation in their historical homeland instead the diaspora must be  strengthened as it was done in Ireland . Mr. Adibekyan's opinion was  accepted ambiguously by the audience and met the tough response of Ms. Larisa Alaverdyan, the executive director of "The Foundation Against the Violation of Law" NGO. Ms. Alaverdyan stated that at the moment due to labor migration a reduction of population of the country takes place and in case of continuation of this process Armenia will have and already has serious problems. 

Closing the conference, Mr. Markarian raised the following question: "I wonder we will encourage the migration then when only 100 Armenians remain in Armenia?"

According to the opinion of Ms. Nana Heruni, the director of "Tanger" recruitment company, migration, whether it is regular or irregular, cannot have a positive impact on the situation in the country and it contributes to the emptying of Armenia. People are emigrating because of bad living conditions and for reduction of migration flows a special strategy aimed at the improvement of industry and social conditions of the country should be developed.