Kaipat says dialogues continue on new labor regs
Thursday, 11 September 2008 00:00 By Junhan B. Todeno - Variety News Staff
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DEPUTY Labor Secretary Cinta Kaipat says she finds some of the implementating regulations for the new labor law, P.L. 15-108, to be working well while others need to be improved.

Kaipat said the concerns raised during the recently held dialogues were “valid” and “well articulated.”

The Department of Labor, she added, will come up with a “compromise” and make the necessary changes to improve the law’s implementing regulations and make them “more workable” especially for the guest workers and their employers.

“We would improve the law to the best that we can for the betterment of the community,” Kaipat told Variety, adding that the dialogues with the different sectors of the community will continue.

Initially, she said, they collected “good” feedback from the community members who are directly affected by the law.

During the two scheduled dialogues last week, the department met with members of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, lawyers representing guest workers, the federal labor ombudsman and representatives of various organizations.

Kaipat said they have a “very fruitful meeting” with the participants, some of whom were concerned about the 30-day transfer rule that allows displaced guest workers to seek new employment.

Other issues raised include the 20 percent requirement for local employment and the immigration status of spouses of Freely Associated States citizens.

Guest workers, Kaipat said, said the 30-day period is too short considering the lengthy process of registering with the Division of Employment Services and the evaluation of the transfer applications.

Under the Nonresident Workers Act and its implementating regulations, “complainants are granted transfer if they are found to be less at fault than their employers with respect to the issue that gave rise to the filing of the complaint.”

But if a complainant fails to have an employer intent form filed within the 30-day period, he or she will be required to depart from the CNMI at the expense of his or her latest employer.

Representatives of guest workers asked the department to “compromise” on the 30-day period, Kaipat said, adding that they have yet to gather all the suggestions and recommendations on how to improve P.L. 15-108.

“Our goal is to listen and see what ideas they will have to suggest ways that we can improve the regulations,” she said.

There’s no scheduled dialogue this week but the department will continue to gather comments so it can evaluate to determine what initiatives are workable before Labor drafts a final report and submit it to the Legislature, Kaipat said.

“I don’t want P.L. 15-108 to become like its predecessors which were amended piece meal, left and right, to the point where loopholes were created because different components did not fit together,” she said. “What we would do is to give it flexibility to make it better serve the needs of the community.”