Yerevan State University Press Secretary Comments on Lawsuit Against University Leadership

The press secretary of Yerevan State University has issued a clarification regarding news about filing a lawsuit against the university's leadership.

“Dear friends and colleagues, last week, a news report emerged in the media stating that I, as the press secretary of Yerevan State University, have filed a lawsuit against the university's leadership. Since the 7-day deadline for filing has passed, and I assume the case will soon be accepted for review, I want to clarify what the lawsuit is about. The issue is that I had an indefinite-term employment contract with Yerevan State University, which the new leadership unlawfully converted to a fixed term until December 31 following the reorganization of my department. I discovered this fact by chance and consider it a serious ethical lapse on the part of the current interim leadership.

I have raised the issue three times with Acting Rector Gegham Gevorgyan, to which I received a response that ‘he himself had too much on his plate at the time.’ After that, I consulted with officials responsible for education and science and, understanding how dire the situation is regarding the legal knowledge level of these officials, decided to approach the court.

The problem is that this is not just my issue, but for years, the rights of employees at Yerevan State University and many other state and semi-state institutions have been grossly violated, as fixed-term contracts have been signed against the laws of Armenia and judicial precedents. High and middle-level managers have pressured their employees by threatening that under conditions of disloyalty, employment contracts will not be renewed, and as a show of force, arbitrarily dismissed employees. I am confident that my legal process will set a precedent for the protection of the rights of employees at Yerevan State University and other institutions.

P.S. – I have also filed another highly principled lawsuit, about which I will provide clarification in a few days.”