Nairit employees rely on Rosneft
Artashes Avetisyan, the founding chairman of the Kamq (Will) civil movement, is hopeful that the problem of Nairit plant will be resolved with Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union. If Rosneft Oil Company agrees to re-operate the plant based on the results of an audit performed by the Russian company, it will create new opportunities for workers. However, if Rosneft refuses to operate the plant, then the government should be forced to find new investors for the final solution to the problem," said Mr Avetisyan. He says the plant which was opened about 74 years ago, should attract multi-million-dollar investment which can be made only by companies that have high asset turnover. Speaking about the accumulated salary arrears, Artashes Avetisyan stressed that the amount of money necessary for repaying the salaries is not so much as the amount needed for the plant’s reopening. “However, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources refrains from repaying the salaries although it owns 10 % of the plant’s shares.” Nairit Plant CJSC, which produces chloroprene rubber and was considered a giant of its kind during the Soviet era, hasn’t been operating since 2010. Only 500 of its 2500 employees today work in the plant.
