EcoLur
“For Ecological Safety and Developing Democracy” NGO has addressed an open letter to “Dundee Precious Metals Kapan” CJSC in reply to Director General Hrach Jabrayan’s speech in Kapan on 15 August 2013. The letter entitled “Panic, Blackmailing and Provocation” particularly says, “In his speech the Company Director spoke about the feeling of fear of our NGO’s members and voiced offenses to their address. What about fear, I will answer now, while young and cunning director will bear responsibility for the offence and defamation addressed to us in his speech in court. The coward is the person who was scolded in the presence of dozens of people in April of this year and didn’t reply back. What is the reason for the actions and approaches of a young and cunning director brought up on Western values to divert from these very Western values and to resemble our reality under the lure and consultants’ psychological pressures?
Let’s refer to the facts covered in his speech:
1. Company directed made rude and rigid statements addressed to governmental bodies.
When Hrach Jabrayan used to be an administrative director, he always positively spoke about governmental bodies in his speeches. What has happened that after being appointed Director General he changed the company’s such loyal and law-obedient approach to the governmental bodies? What has been changed in the relations between the company and governmental bodies which the company director general doesn’t mention, instead addresses emotional and panic-driven allegations to them? When in June 2013 the armed representatives of a governmental body, under director’s words, entered the company territory, why didn’t he make a statement about it at once and decided to voice it only several months after? Maybe the director couldn’t solve the problems he faced in this period and proceeds to this panic-driven and provocative step. The director also stated that the trespassers should obey to the internal laws of the company.
Reminder to director: in the Republic of Armenia everybody shall obey to the requirements of the Armenian legislation, and foreign citizens and companies have no privileges in this regard.
2. The company director stated if the governmental bodies keep on working with the company in this manner, he will make 300 employees out of 1200 redundant, as he needs only 900 employees.
The director, who will make redundant such number of company employees, will be fired by the company owner. This company always changed directors, but the company works and will continue working, if there are no artificial and deliberate actions, as there are today.
3. In his speech the director also said that the company miners mined 50,000 tons of ore and over for two months and received bonuses, but the employees didn’t receive their bonuses in the third month ensuring the same amount of ore. The company director conditioned it with the cases of violating safety rules. He also stated that miners are lazy and don’t want to work.
It should be mentioned that it’s just a crime towards the Armenian worker not to pay bonuses to a worker having mined 50,000 tons of ore and over at the expense of their health bringing some stupid reasons. Which employee will keep on working after this in the case when 50,000 tons of ore hasn’t been mined till then? While calling a worker having mined 50,000 tons of ore lazy is inhuman attitude and at least infamy.
4. In his speech the director mentioned that the company has been working with losses for 7 years and the owner has continuously been making investments without making any profit, but he has asked the owner to demonstrate patience for a while.
We would like to inform the director under the Armenian law on closed joint-stock companies, the CJSC goes to bankruptcy if it doesn’t make any profit for two years, but it’s not the same for a company.
A question arises: if the company owner incurs losses for so many years, what is the reason for him to get stick to the richest mine in Shahumyan. The reason is more than clear:
a) the owners makes real profit,
b) the owner even plans to proceed to open pit mining to make more profit,
5. In his speech the director said that Syunik Regional Prosecutor’s Office hasn’t initiated a criminal case against the company.
The prosecutor’s office has definitely initiated a criminal case against the company. Besides, this decision of the prosecutor’s office has already been appealed.
6. In his speech the director said they don’t just do business, but also stop emigration.
Three years ago when this young and cunning director was employed at the company, the company had 1200 employees, today, during three years of his de-facto management, the company again has 1200 employees.
7. In his speech he referred to the issue of Shahumyan open pit mining and mentioned that this issue would be decided during discussions with his participation in Canada by 16 September and he added that the decision of open pit mining will be made in Armenia not by the government, but by Kapan resident and Hrach.
Kapan residents have already made and will make a decision about their future, but they won’t permit Hrach and the like to interfere into Kapan events, as they didn’t permit Hrach to put sculptures in the common cemetery of Kapan.
On the eve of making a decision on open pit mining such behavior of the director is understandable. The director doesn’t live up to the owner’s expectations and failed the relations with public and governmental bodies, while open pit mining is not realistic on this background.
We are appealing the company employees not to be afraid of the company director’s puffy statements. In the Republic of Armenia the soil belongs to the people and we won’t allow the rights of employees to be violated. We will fight together to live respectfully and to be protected.
Directors keep on changing (Michael, John, Robert, Ilya and Hrach), tomorrow Jackson can be the director, but you will stay and the mine will be developed and operated in closed manner. The mine owner is the state, i.e. you - the people, while the state has assigned the company to develop it on temporary basis. Be informed the company owns only buildings and land area without the soil.
August 21, 2013 at 16:58