Friday, February 06, 2009
Local
Friday, February 06, 2009

Labor's workload drops as workers leave
'But scrutiny of hiring of alien workers has increased'
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter

The Department of Labor's overall workload on the alien workers' side dropped slightly in 2008 as the number of foreign workers present in the CNMI went down.

But Labor's scrutiny of each proposed employment of a foreign worker has increased substantially, according to Labor Secretary Gil M. San Nicolas and Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat in a report to the Legislature.

The scrutiny, San Nicolas and Kaipat said, has led to more denials of employment applications and more Labor denial hearings.

The Fiscal Year 2009 budget has cut Labor's full-time personnel to 46 (from 85 in 2006). The budget has also cut funding for other expenses by 25 percent over the 2006 level.

The two Labor officials said that, as of Dec. 31, 2008, Labor had issued 22,917 work permits in the foreign worker immigration category.

San Nicolas and Kaipat pointed out that the department counts only its administrative operations; it does not conduct any census of alien workers actually present in the CNMI.

They said the number of permits issued is greater than the number of workers present in the Commonwealth at any given point in a typical year because some permit actions are contract amendments or extensions and affect a single worker.

The officials said some permit holders elect to leave the CNMI during the year for personal or employment reasons, while employers implement reductions in force and cancel “issued” permits for some of their workers.

San Nicolas and Kaipat said some employers close their businesses entirely and Labor cancels their “issued” permits.

There are reportedly 37 alien workers who do not hold permits but have temporary work authorizations. Seventy foreign workers do not hold permits, but have memoranda authorizing them to seek work while their labor cases are pending.