Director Hirshbein Speaks At Chamber Luncheon

AS BUSINESSES COMPETE FOR LIMITED WORKER SLOTS
'Big projects will get priority'

By Stefan Sebastian
Business Editor

Labor director Barry Hirsbein answer questions about the pre-transition period during yesterday's Saipan Chamber of Commerce general membership meeting at the Hyatt Regency Saipan's Sandcastle. (Jacqueline Hernandez) The federal cap on the number of foreigners labor officials can permit to work in the Commonwealth after the passage of legislation federalizing local immigration laws has yet to be reached, according to Division of Labor chief Barry Hirshbein, but regulators must still give many available openings to key development projects to spur economic growth.

“The numbers look good,” Hirshbein said before a meeting of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce Wednesday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Garapan, adding that Labor currently has about 300 employment slots available below the more than 22,400 worker limit imposed by the bill.

The federalization cap has business leaders in the Commonwealth shaken, as many expect they will have to compete with each other for available worker slots to fill job vacancies. Many have also voiced fears that the government will give preferential treatment to employers responsible for major construction projects that are beneficial to the local economy.

However, Hirshbein in his speech said such concessions are necessary to encourage future investment in the Commonwealth. “We do have to make allowances for big development projects in the CNMI,” he said, noting new hotels due to be built at Lau Lau Bay and on Tinian. “We have to be sensitive to their needs in terms of encouraging future development.”

Hirshbein acknowledged this might have some consequences for other businesses. “Some of your needs may have to be put on hold” in terms of filling job openings, he said, as a result of this policy.

Businesses that rely on foreign workers, he added, should consider attempting to extend their work visas for six months in anticipation of the federal government's takeover of immigration rules, and later submitting an application for a two-year renewal.

“There's no guarantee that this will work,” said Hirshbein. “But if you time it well, you could submit a two-year renewal application for a worker in whom you feel secure about your need to keep beyond the end of the transition period. We believe the federal government will honor those application and those permits approved during the transition period.”

Additionally, Hirshbein noted a recent change in Labor's policy for work visa applications. Previous Labor rules stipulated that incomplete applications would be rejected. During a management meeting Wednesday, however, officials clarified the policy to state that an application missing a health certificate will no longer be rejected automatically but one must be provided before the application is approved.