The Government suggests declaring January 3, 4 and 5 as working days

The parliamentary committee on state and legal affairs and protection of human rights postponed the debates of the bill on cutting the pre-Christmas holidays from the national calendar. The bill suggests declaring January 3, 4 and 5 as business days.

Tadevos Avetisyan, deputy minister of labor and social affairs, said the purpose of the bill is to have holidays associated solely with traditions of the Armenian people – Amanor (New Year) and Christmas. “The fact that these days are holidays isn’t appropriate also in terms of social-economic reasons”, he said.

Opposition MP Gevorg Petrosyan from the Tsarukyan faction opposed the idea and said that he doesn’t understand what those three days have to do with social-economic conditions of the country.

Deputy chairman of the committee from the ruling party Rustam Makhmudyan agreed with the opposition MP, suggesting that the bill needs revision. Chairman of the committee Gevorg Kostanyan and Vice Speaker of Parliament Arpine Hovhannisyan endorsed Makhmudyan’s proposal.