AZE.US
Azerbaijani politician Tural Abbasli has sharply criticized what he described as a growing trend of forcing low-skilled workers out of jobs while offering no clear path for them to survive.
His remarks followed reports that 80 janitors at AzeriGaz company failed an exam, a case Abbasli used to question the logic of testing people employed in the most basic and physically demanding jobs.
He said the issue goes far beyond one institution or one group of workers. In his view, every such decision affects not just an employee, but an entire household that depends on that income.
Abbasli argued that many people in Azerbaijan live with little financial margin, calculating their monthly budgets down to the last manat. In that environment, even a small drop in income can destabilize a family, while losing a job altogether can become a direct social crisis.
He also linked the case to broader staff cuts and “optimization” measures in the public sector, saying such policies are often presented as reform but leave ordinary people with no safety net.
According to Abbasli, the state has no right to simply tell a person they are no longer needed after years inside a flawed system, especially if that person was never given the education, retraining or opportunity to build another profession.
He framed the issue in broader social terms, asking what happens to citizens who are poorly educated, lack competitive skills and still need to feed their families. A state, he said, must work for everyone – educated and uneducated, strong and weak alike.
Abbasli also criticized what he sees as a deeper lack of vision in policy, arguing that officials increasingly treat culture, education and social support as excess spending rather than as the foundation of a functioning society.
He said a country with a large state budget should be creating jobs, reducing stress and making life more stable for citizens, not closing off existing sources of income.
In his view, the central question is not whether officials can cut positions or impose exams, but what concrete alternative they are offering to the people left behind.