Ministry of Defense Plans to Increase Bonuses for Medical Workers During Pandemic

The Ministry of Defense is planning to establish the amount of bonuses for the medical personnel and healthcare workers of the RA Armed Forces engaged in organizing and delivering medical assistance during pandemics.

As reported by Armenpress, citing the unified website for the publication of legal acts e-draft, the justification for the draft published by the Ministry indicates that personnel involved in preventive, economic, and engineering-technical work during pandemics and epidemics perform their duties in highly risky conditions, executing various support functions including food organization, washing of patients' linens and protective clothing, servicing hospital rooms, and removing biological waste, while being in direct contact with a large number of infected individuals.

According to the results of a study of international practices, work in such conditions is regarded as high-risk and is compensated at a higher rate than in other public service sectors. Recognizing the critical need for social security for medical personnel of the RA Armed Forces, as well as staff supporting preventive healthcare efforts, there is a necessity to revise the compensation policy. This revision seeks to enhance the attractiveness of the military medical service, thus ensuring the filling of vacant positions and attracting qualified personnel.

In this way, it is possible to significantly increase the compensation of medical personnel of the RA Armed Forces during pandemics and epidemics and to involve qualified personnel in preventive medical work. Meanwhile, the increase in the workload of other healthcare workers due to low compensation and vacant positions directly or indirectly leads to a decline in motivation.

Considering that the military medical service of the RA Armed Forces is involved in the preventive process related to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, it is deemed appropriate to increase the monthly bonuses paid to military medical personnel and healthcare workers, aligning them with the compensation levels of other healthcare workers in the RA health system.