The strike practically paralyzed the municipal transport system, leaving tens thousands of commuters stranded at bus stops across the city. It came amid the ongoing introduction of a new electronic ticketing system which officials say will prevent drivers and other employees of a municipal transport company from pocketing bus fares.
The drivers have already been banned from accepting any cash from their passengers. They say that the municipality has broken a pledge to raise their monthly wages by 100,000-150,000 drams ($260-$385).
“They promised to raise our wages but they haven’t,” one of the striking drivers told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Another said Mayor Tigran Avinian’s office offered instead to pay the drivers 700 drams ($1.8) for every hour of overtime work. They already have to work for more than 12 hours a day, he claimed.
The authorities were quick to reject their demands and rule out any negotiations with them.
“We will not give in to any kind of blackmail, we will not compromise,” Avinian wrote on Facebook. “The organizers [of the strike] will be held strictly accountable.”
Avinian's office announced the sackings shortly afterwards. It said the strike action is illegal because the drivers began it without prior notice and caused “financial damage” to the transport system. One of Avinian’s deputies, Suren Grigorian, said he has also asked prosecutors to launch criminal proceedings against them.
The sackings were strongly condemned by Armenian opposition figures and legal experts critical of the government. Arman Tatoyan, a former human rights ombudsman, said the drivers are illegally punished and “terrorized” for exercising their constitutional rights.
The new ticketing system, which will fully take effect on January 1, will also lead to a significant increase in transport fees. Opposition members of Yerevan’s municipal council have been campaigning against the measure. They have dismissed as insufficient price discounts introduced last month for various categories of the population, including children, university students and pensioners.
Bus and minibus fees in the Armenian capital have stood at 100 drams (25 U.S. cents) per ride for over two decades. They will be replaced with a complex tariff system involving electronic payments for season tickets. Commuters will have to pay 8,800 drams ($22) per month, 23,600 drams per quarter and 88,000 drams per annum for an unlimited number of bus, trolleybus or metro rides. A one-ride ticket will cost around 300 drams.