The purpose of the round-table discussion was to strengthen social partnership and social dialogue at the sectorial level, as well as to encourage active participation of the employers and workers representatives in decision-making and compliance promotion.

Around 30 employers and trade union activists of the Republican Industrial Union of Trade Union Organizations of Miners, Metallurgists and Jewellers of Armenia participated in the meeting. Andrey Sinyakov, Executive Director of the "Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine" CJSC, Artur Zakaryan, General Director of the "Rusal Armenal” CJSC, Edgar Hovhannisyan, Admin Director of the "Chaarat Kapan" CJSC and other senior employers of the sector, as well as Slavik Sargsyan, acting head of the Health and Labour Inspection Body of the RA (HLIB) participated in the event.

The meeting was inspired by the positive outcomes of the similar round-table discussion organized in September 2022. During the sessions, the participants focused on the follow-up activities implemented after the previous meeting, as well as on the existing OSH systems and mechanisms at the workplaces.

According to Eduard Pahlevanyan, President of the Republican Industrial Union of Trade Union organizations of miners, metallurgists and jewellers of Armenia, “the meeting was very successful, because all participating parties, namely the representatives of HLIB, employers’ and trade unions’ representatives reached an agreement to establish a joint Occupational Safety and Health Committee in the mining sector. The Committee will include representatives not only from the HLIB, employers’ and trade unions’ organizations, but also from the Urban Development, Technical Standards and Fire Safety Inspectorate and from the Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body of the Republic of Armenia.”

The participants also agreed that the activities of the Committee will be financed by the employers and carried out in coordination with the Republican Industrial Union of Trade Union Organizations of Miners, Metallurgists, and Jewellers of Armenia. It was also agreed to establish prompt mutual informing between the industrial trade union, OSH specialists at enterprises and the HLIB in order to provide solutions and implement preventive measures in a timely manner.

The meeting was organized by the Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia (CTUA) with the financial support  of the ILO development cooperation Project “Promoting Implementation of Labour Rights in Armenia Together” (PILRAT).