Armenian parliament speaker defends large bonuses to officials

Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan has defended the large year-end bonuses paid to government officials, arguing that they should be viewed as part of their regular salaries rather than exceptional payouts.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Simonyan said the bonuses represent wages accumulated throughout the year. “This is their salary,” he said. “It will be paid again, possibly in a different proportion.”

He stressed that government officials who are responsible for raising pensions, improving public services and ensuring peace must be adequately compensated to remain competitive in the labor market. “These are the people who work on electricity tariffs for our grandparents, road quality, peace, on every aspect of state policy,” Simonyan said. “They are criticized every day, yet they must be able to represent the country, dress appropriately and come to work.”

According to Simonyan, without competitive pay, qualified professionals could leave the public sector for private jobs. “They need to be competitive so that employees in state institutions do not prefer to work in the private sector or leave the country,” he added.

He also stated that some teachers and military personnel now earn more than MPs thanks to recent salary and pension increases. “These are the people who raised teachers’ salaries and pensions for the elderly,” he added.