Local
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Labor bags $73K to support federal labor certification programs for farm workers
By Press Release
The CNMI Department of Labor has received approval from the Office of Foreign Labor Certification of the U.S. Department of Labor of its “FY 2010 Annual Plan for Foreign Labor Certification.”
The approval from the Washington D.C.-based Employment and Training Administration was accompanied by a grant award in the amount of $73,355.32. The funds are intended to support activities by the Office of Foreign Labor Certification in the H-2A program for the local agriculture industry.
While the CNMI Department of Labor has participated in an online training session, this is the first time it will officially participate, like other states, in Office of Foreign Labor Certification activities.
“I'd like to congratulate the CNMI Department of Labor for applying for and receiving this grant from the federal government which is recognition of the ongoing role that our CNMI Labor Department will play in foreign labor certification. It is important to have federal and Commonwealth laws operate in tandem regarding labor matters, as in other states and territories,” said Gov. Benigno R. Fitial.
The grant awarded to the Labor will be used for the startup of Foreign Labor Certification under U.S. Department of Labor Planning Guidance for the local agriculture industry. Specifically, the program will provide funding to cover the work of CNMI Department of Labor employees in providing housing inspections and wage surveys. CNMI Labor will supplement the standard U.S. wage survey for the agriculture industry with a complete review of all alien CNMI farm labor contracts.
The CNMI also recently added farm workers to the central job order system created by the CNMI Department of Labor in recent years. The online job order system is designed to promote a statutory job preference for U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, and CNMI permanent residents. Job orders are posted for 14 days on the Web at www.marianaslabor.net in order to give qualified citizens an opportunity to apply.
At the present time, there were 114 job orders forecasted CNMI-wide for foreign agriculture workers that will fall under the H-2A program.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Nonresidents registering with Labor
Wednesday, 15 September 2010 00:00 By Junhan B. Todeno - Reporter
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LABOR Deputy Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat says nonresidents have begun registering with her department as required by Public Law 17-1.
“People are registering steadily,” she said in an-email.
“Remember that we already registered many people because we did that together with other transactions, and we continue to do that so there is not necessarily any line for registration on any particular day. I expect we will have nearly everyone registered by the deadline, which is some time off.”
The registration window at Labor is open from 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
The schedule for registration is as follows:
• Sept. 7-24: Aliens in the 240K classification who are not already registered (current or former workers)
• Sept. 27-Oct. 14: Aliens in the 240G, 240H, and 240N classifications who are not already registered (current or former investors, students, and business owners)
• Oct. 18-Nov. 3: IRs in all classifications who are not already registered (current IRs of U.S. citizens, foreign workers, foreign students, foreign investors, and foreign business owners)
• Nov. 8-30: All other aliens regardless of status
Workers whose contracts are renewed during 2010 are automatically registered in the contract process and their new updated ID cards have been issued. The same is true for all foreign investors, foreign business owners, foreign students, and immediate relatives who already have CNMI-issued ID cards for 2010. Those persons are already registered and need not do anything further about registration this year.
“We are now working on registering all other aliens in the commonwealth, including immediate relatives, common law spouses, minors, victims of crime and aliens eligible under the Violence Against Women Act and all others,” Kaipat said in an earlier press release.
Registration is required of all aliens other than lawful permanent residents (green card holders), regardless of status. There is no fee for these registrations.
For aliens who do not have a prior-year registration or permit card, the documentation required for registration includes a passport-sized photo, a completed registration form, and personal identification showing birth date.
The registration form is on the department’s website, www.marianaslabor.net.
E-mail Print
LABOR Deputy Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat says nonresidents have begun registering with her department as required by Public Law 17-1.
“People are registering steadily,” she said in an-email.
“Remember that we already registered many people because we did that together with other transactions, and we continue to do that so there is not necessarily any line for registration on any particular day. I expect we will have nearly everyone registered by the deadline, which is some time off.”
The registration window at Labor is open from 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
The schedule for registration is as follows:
• Sept. 7-24: Aliens in the 240K classification who are not already registered (current or former workers)
• Sept. 27-Oct. 14: Aliens in the 240G, 240H, and 240N classifications who are not already registered (current or former investors, students, and business owners)
• Oct. 18-Nov. 3: IRs in all classifications who are not already registered (current IRs of U.S. citizens, foreign workers, foreign students, foreign investors, and foreign business owners)
• Nov. 8-30: All other aliens regardless of status
Workers whose contracts are renewed during 2010 are automatically registered in the contract process and their new updated ID cards have been issued. The same is true for all foreign investors, foreign business owners, foreign students, and immediate relatives who already have CNMI-issued ID cards for 2010. Those persons are already registered and need not do anything further about registration this year.
“We are now working on registering all other aliens in the commonwealth, including immediate relatives, common law spouses, minors, victims of crime and aliens eligible under the Violence Against Women Act and all others,” Kaipat said in an earlier press release.
Registration is required of all aliens other than lawful permanent residents (green card holders), regardless of status. There is no fee for these registrations.
For aliens who do not have a prior-year registration or permit card, the documentation required for registration includes a passport-sized photo, a completed registration form, and personal identification showing birth date.
The registration form is on the department’s website, www.marianaslabor.net.
Labor hails Wiseman decision
Wednesday, 15 September 2010 00:00 By Junhan B. Todeno - Reporter
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THE recent court ruling on a labor case is something that the Department of Labor has been seeking for several years, Deputy Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat said yesterday.
Labor believes that bond claims enforcement should be done in court, she added.
“Only a court has the power to force a bonding company to pay,” she said in an e-mail.
Labor, she added, “does not control the licensing of bonding companies, and we cannot attach their bank accounts. So we could issue opinions on their liability with respect to bonds, and nothing would happen. We had cleaned up the entire backlog of labor cases and we wanted our orders enforced.”
In 2007, she said, after the enactment of Public Law 15-108, Labor pushed for the enforcement of bond claims in court.
In the same year, she added, “we started handing out Small Claims packets to claimants telling them how to take their cases to court. Many of them did that, and two of the insurance companies — Royal Crown and Oceania — objected. They said that the workers’ claims on the bonds could not be considered in the first instance in court. They argued that they were entitled to a hearing at the Labor Department first. Judge [Perry] Inos issued an opinion in 2009 accepting the insurance company arguments and sending all these cases back to the Department of Labor. So we did two things: first, we set up hearings for all the bond claims and advertised extensively so workers would come in and present their claims. Second, we petitioned the Legislature to change the law to make it clear to the courts that workers could go to court to enforce the Department of Labor’s orders.”
According to Kaipat, “We processed all the claims and issued orders in all the cases where there was a bond by January of this year. Many of those cases were appealed to the [Labor] secretary, and all those appeals were completed months ago. Now, Royal Crown is back in Superior Court appealing the secretary’s decision in eight of these cases claiming — you guessed it — that they did not get a fair deal at the Labor Department (where they were ordered to pay) and now they want their day in court. They even took one case to federal court, where Judge [Alex] Munson held that the Department of Labor had proceeded properly. He dismissed their claim.
Judge Wiseman has not yet ruled on the appeals the insurance companies have filed in Superior Court, but we expect the same result as we got from Judge Munson.”
Kaipat said Labor “succeeded in getting a new section put into P.L. 17-1 providing specifically that workers could take the enforcement of their claims to court. We drafted that statutory section in consultation with lawyers for the workers. That became effective in March 2010.”
So, she added, “we have cleaned up all the past bond claims that were presented to the department, and we have changed the law so that, going forward, workers can take their cases directly to court. This is an example of the good progress the Department of Labor is making on all fronts.”
On Friday, Judge David A. Wiseman ruled that based on Public Law 17-1, which took effect last March, alien workers can now file court actions to collect administrative awards even without exhausting collection remedies at the Department of Labor.
E-mail Print
THE recent court ruling on a labor case is something that the Department of Labor has been seeking for several years, Deputy Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat said yesterday.
Labor believes that bond claims enforcement should be done in court, she added.
“Only a court has the power to force a bonding company to pay,” she said in an e-mail.
Labor, she added, “does not control the licensing of bonding companies, and we cannot attach their bank accounts. So we could issue opinions on their liability with respect to bonds, and nothing would happen. We had cleaned up the entire backlog of labor cases and we wanted our orders enforced.”
In 2007, she said, after the enactment of Public Law 15-108, Labor pushed for the enforcement of bond claims in court.
In the same year, she added, “we started handing out Small Claims packets to claimants telling them how to take their cases to court. Many of them did that, and two of the insurance companies — Royal Crown and Oceania — objected. They said that the workers’ claims on the bonds could not be considered in the first instance in court. They argued that they were entitled to a hearing at the Labor Department first. Judge [Perry] Inos issued an opinion in 2009 accepting the insurance company arguments and sending all these cases back to the Department of Labor. So we did two things: first, we set up hearings for all the bond claims and advertised extensively so workers would come in and present their claims. Second, we petitioned the Legislature to change the law to make it clear to the courts that workers could go to court to enforce the Department of Labor’s orders.”
According to Kaipat, “We processed all the claims and issued orders in all the cases where there was a bond by January of this year. Many of those cases were appealed to the [Labor] secretary, and all those appeals were completed months ago. Now, Royal Crown is back in Superior Court appealing the secretary’s decision in eight of these cases claiming — you guessed it — that they did not get a fair deal at the Labor Department (where they were ordered to pay) and now they want their day in court. They even took one case to federal court, where Judge [Alex] Munson held that the Department of Labor had proceeded properly. He dismissed their claim.
Judge Wiseman has not yet ruled on the appeals the insurance companies have filed in Superior Court, but we expect the same result as we got from Judge Munson.”
Kaipat said Labor “succeeded in getting a new section put into P.L. 17-1 providing specifically that workers could take the enforcement of their claims to court. We drafted that statutory section in consultation with lawyers for the workers. That became effective in March 2010.”
So, she added, “we have cleaned up all the past bond claims that were presented to the department, and we have changed the law so that, going forward, workers can take their cases directly to court. This is an example of the good progress the Department of Labor is making on all fronts.”
On Friday, Judge David A. Wiseman ruled that based on Public Law 17-1, which took effect last March, alien workers can now file court actions to collect administrative awards even without exhausting collection remedies at the Department of Labor.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Local
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Labor announces mandatory alien registration
The Commonwealth has been registering aliens annually since 1985. After the Immigration Division was disbanded, its former task of registering aliens was assigned to the Department of Labor.
“Every alien who has an ID card issued by the CNMI after Jan. 1, 2010 is already registered,” said Labor deputy secretary Jacinta Kaipat. “Those aliens need do nothing further until next year.”
Workers whose contracts are renewed during 2010 are automatically registered in the contract process and their new updated ID cards have been issued. The same is true for all foreign investors, foreign business owners, foreign students, and immediate relatives who already have CNMI-issued ID cards for 2010. Those persons are already registered and need not do anything further about registration this year.
“We are now working on registering all other aliens in the Commonwealth, including immediate relatives, common law spouses, minors, victims of crime and aliens eligible under VAWA (Violence Against Women Act), and all others,” Kaipat said.
Registration is required of all aliens other than lawful permanent residents (green card holders), regardless of status. There is no fee for these registrations.
For aliens who do not have a prior-year registration or permit card, the documentation required for registration includes a passport-sized photo, a completed registration form, and personal identification showing birth date. The registration form is on the department's website, www.marianaslabor.net.
The registration window will be open from 8:15am to 4:15pm, Monday through Thursday.
The schedule for registration is as follows:
* Sept. 7-24: Aliens in the 240K classification who are not already registered (current or former workers)
* Sept. 27-Oct. 14: Aliens in the 240G, 240H, and 240N classifications who are not already registered (current or former investors, students, and business owners)
* Oct. 18-Nov. 3: IRs in all classifications who are not already registered (current IRs of U.S. citizens, foreign workers, foreign students, foreign investors, and foreign business owners)
* Nov. 8-30: All other aliens regardless of status
Alien registration cards will be available for pickup either at the time of the registration or within a few days after the registration form is filed.
“Aliens who register may also have their umbrella permit status problems addressed at the same time,” Kaipat said. “Those who did not make their report-back date for some reason or who have other umbrella permit issues may request to have their umbrella permits or existing permits updated when they register.
Registration is required under Commonwealth PL 17-1. (PR)
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Labor announces mandatory alien registration
The Commonwealth has been registering aliens annually since 1985. After the Immigration Division was disbanded, its former task of registering aliens was assigned to the Department of Labor.
“Every alien who has an ID card issued by the CNMI after Jan. 1, 2010 is already registered,” said Labor deputy secretary Jacinta Kaipat. “Those aliens need do nothing further until next year.”
Workers whose contracts are renewed during 2010 are automatically registered in the contract process and their new updated ID cards have been issued. The same is true for all foreign investors, foreign business owners, foreign students, and immediate relatives who already have CNMI-issued ID cards for 2010. Those persons are already registered and need not do anything further about registration this year.
“We are now working on registering all other aliens in the Commonwealth, including immediate relatives, common law spouses, minors, victims of crime and aliens eligible under VAWA (Violence Against Women Act), and all others,” Kaipat said.
Registration is required of all aliens other than lawful permanent residents (green card holders), regardless of status. There is no fee for these registrations.
For aliens who do not have a prior-year registration or permit card, the documentation required for registration includes a passport-sized photo, a completed registration form, and personal identification showing birth date. The registration form is on the department's website, www.marianaslabor.net.
The registration window will be open from 8:15am to 4:15pm, Monday through Thursday.
The schedule for registration is as follows:
* Sept. 7-24: Aliens in the 240K classification who are not already registered (current or former workers)
* Sept. 27-Oct. 14: Aliens in the 240G, 240H, and 240N classifications who are not already registered (current or former investors, students, and business owners)
* Oct. 18-Nov. 3: IRs in all classifications who are not already registered (current IRs of U.S. citizens, foreign workers, foreign students, foreign investors, and foreign business owners)
* Nov. 8-30: All other aliens regardless of status
Alien registration cards will be available for pickup either at the time of the registration or within a few days after the registration form is filed.
“Aliens who register may also have their umbrella permit status problems addressed at the same time,” Kaipat said. “Those who did not make their report-back date for some reason or who have other umbrella permit issues may request to have their umbrella permits or existing permits updated when they register.
Registration is required under Commonwealth PL 17-1. (PR)
Local
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Employers surveyed for jobs inventory
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Hundreds of employers in the CNMI are now being surveyed online for their jobs inventory, data from which is expected to help provide employment for U.S. citizens and to help determine the extension of the transition period for foreign workers to remain in the Commonwealth, among other things.
The “2010 CNMI Jobs Inventory Survey” is being conducted by the CNMI Department of Labor.
Douglas Brennan, president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, encouraged businesses to take the time to fill out the survey form, which is also done in line with Public Law 17-1 or the CNMI omnibus immigration law.
PL 17-1 makes the Commonwealth Code conform with the requirements of the federalization law, Title VII of U.S. Public Law 110-229, with respect to federal control of immigration and deportation. It converts the mandatory 20- to 30-percent local hiring preference into a floating benchmark.
“If employers don't fill up the form, then they could expect a call or visit from Labor to make sure they participate in the survey,” Brennan told Saipan Tribune.
The Chamber, the largest business organization in the CNMI with some 150 members, held its monthly meeting yesterday afternoon at The Palms Resort in San Roque.
Employers are asked to complete the survey within two weeks of receiving the request or as soon as possible.
They are asked to report on each job for which a worker was paid at any time during the month of August 2010.
Labor Secretary Gil M. San Nicolas, in his cover letter for the survey, said the Commonwealth needs the survey in order to qualify for certain federal grants, and to “assist with respect to the U.S. Secretary of Labor's determination on the extension of the transition period for foreign workers to remain in the Commonwealth.
San Nicolas said the survey will also help plan for and provide better employment training of U.S. citizens.
“(The survey also seeks) to provide the Commonwealth government and the public with information we do not now have because the U.S. agencies do not collect this information in the CNMI on a current basis,” San Nicolas said.
The Labor secretary said the information that employers provide is kept strictly confidential and will be used only to prepare statistical compilations that do not identify individuals or employers.
Some of the information requested by the survey form include the employer's name and employer number or TIN/SSN, as well as their business expectations - fewer aliens, same number of aliens, more aliens.
Employers are also asked about the O-NET job code, their employees' job title, job status, worker's name, Form I-9 status, and Form I-9 ID number.
The federal government took over CNMI immigration on Nov. 28, 2009.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Employers surveyed for jobs inventory
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Hundreds of employers in the CNMI are now being surveyed online for their jobs inventory, data from which is expected to help provide employment for U.S. citizens and to help determine the extension of the transition period for foreign workers to remain in the Commonwealth, among other things.
The “2010 CNMI Jobs Inventory Survey” is being conducted by the CNMI Department of Labor.
Douglas Brennan, president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, encouraged businesses to take the time to fill out the survey form, which is also done in line with Public Law 17-1 or the CNMI omnibus immigration law.
PL 17-1 makes the Commonwealth Code conform with the requirements of the federalization law, Title VII of U.S. Public Law 110-229, with respect to federal control of immigration and deportation. It converts the mandatory 20- to 30-percent local hiring preference into a floating benchmark.
“If employers don't fill up the form, then they could expect a call or visit from Labor to make sure they participate in the survey,” Brennan told Saipan Tribune.
The Chamber, the largest business organization in the CNMI with some 150 members, held its monthly meeting yesterday afternoon at The Palms Resort in San Roque.
Employers are asked to complete the survey within two weeks of receiving the request or as soon as possible.
They are asked to report on each job for which a worker was paid at any time during the month of August 2010.
Labor Secretary Gil M. San Nicolas, in his cover letter for the survey, said the Commonwealth needs the survey in order to qualify for certain federal grants, and to “assist with respect to the U.S. Secretary of Labor's determination on the extension of the transition period for foreign workers to remain in the Commonwealth.
San Nicolas said the survey will also help plan for and provide better employment training of U.S. citizens.
“(The survey also seeks) to provide the Commonwealth government and the public with information we do not now have because the U.S. agencies do not collect this information in the CNMI on a current basis,” San Nicolas said.
The Labor secretary said the information that employers provide is kept strictly confidential and will be used only to prepare statistical compilations that do not identify individuals or employers.
Some of the information requested by the survey form include the employer's name and employer number or TIN/SSN, as well as their business expectations - fewer aliens, same number of aliens, more aliens.
Employers are also asked about the O-NET job code, their employees' job title, job status, worker's name, Form I-9 status, and Form I-9 ID number.
The federal government took over CNMI immigration on Nov. 28, 2009.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Carolinians Gather to Oppose Interior Report on Nonresident Workers
Local
Monday, July 26, 2010
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
A little over a hundred members of the Carolinian community, along with guests, gathered at the Civic Center in Susupe on Saturday afternoon to voice out their opposition to the U.S. Department of the Interior's report recommending improved immigration status to some 20,000 foreign workers in the CNMI.
The gathering also served as a campaign event for two delegate candidates with Carolinian blood-former Gov. Juan N. Babauta and former House Floor Leader Joseph N. Camacho.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, who is a Carolinian, encouraged those at the assembly to participate in a referendum asking their opinion on the Interior report, should such question be posed in the November 2010 elections.
A referendum, also known as a plebiscite or a ballot question, is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal.
Fitial said the specific question to be asked is now being worked on, and is expected to be included in the Nov. 2 ballot.
Fitial addressed the crowd in Carolinian language for 17 minutes which started at 1:57pm.
In his speech, he reiterated the Interior's failure to consult with him or the CNMI government before releasing the report to the U.S. Congress. He said Public Law 110-229 or the federalization law requires such consultation.
The governor also described the Interior report as “seriously defective,” adding that the conclusions regarding the CNMI economy and future need for foreign workers are rebutted by publicly available data and professional economic analysis.
Fitial's reasons for opposing the report also include failure to consider the potential impact of the recommendations on unemployed U.S. citizens in the CNMI and the ability of the CNMI to provide essential public services to its residents. He said any change in status should be considered only in the context of overall immigration reform in the U.S.
Camacho echoed Fitial's opposition to the Interior report, saying it violated the federalization law. Because of the lack of consultation, the Interior report bore a “one-sided recommendation.”
He said he would like to see all able-bodied U.S. citizens in the CNMI to be working either in government or the private sector, and only then should foreign workers be allowed to fill in other positions.
Camacho said he is now working with Rep. Frederick P. Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan) in establishing a master list of available jobs in government and private sector.
Deleon Guerrero drafted a resolution asking U.S. House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife chair Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam) to “reject” the Interior report and conduct hearings in the CNMI on the said report.
Babauta, for his part, said there is already a law that allows foreign workers to apply for U.S. citizenship or other immigration status, and that foreign workers in the CNMI should comply with the same requirements as others applying for such status.
“If anybody wants to become a U.S. citizen, they should stand in line.for fairness,” he told the crowd.
He said the focus of the debate should not be about the granting of U.S. citizenship, but on the CNMI economy, specifically the number of foreign workers needed to sustain and grow the local economy.
“If our delegate is doing his job, we won't be having this discussion today,” said Babauta, who is also a former resident representative of the CNMI to Washington, D.C.
The Interior report, submitted to the U.S. Congress in April, recommends five options that include granting long-term alien workers permanent residency status, U.S. citizenship or a status similar to those granted to citizens of the Freely Associated States.
Dolores Rasiang, a Dandan resident, said she attended the Carolinian gathering to learn more about the referendum and the Interior report.
“I don't support the Interior report 100,000 percent because I want to protect my land,” she said.
Saturday's gathering was reminiscent of the May 29 peaceful assembly held by indigenous Chamorros and Carolinians also to show their opposition to the Interior report. Nonresidents also held a peaceful assembly showing support to the Interior report and recommendations.
Fitial, in an interview later, said he wrote another letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, asking him to respond to his previous letter.
The governor asked Salazar to withdraw the Interior report recommending long-term immigration status for alien workers who have been in the CNMI for at least five years.
Besides Fitial, Camacho, and Babauta, the others who spoke at the Carolinian assembly included Indigenous Affairs Office resident executive director Ignacio Demapan, Carolinian Affairs executive assistant Angie Iginoef-Mangarero, Vice Speaker Felicidad Ogumoro (Cov-Saipan), former Speaker Oscar Rasa, Deputy Labor Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat, Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Melvin Faisao, and Leon I. Taisacan.
Other lawmakers present at the gathering were Rep. Rafael Demapan (Cov-Saipan) and Rep. Stanley Torres (Ind-Saipan), who earlier said that the Interior report will destroy the CNMI.
Monday, July 26, 2010
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
A little over a hundred members of the Carolinian community, along with guests, gathered at the Civic Center in Susupe on Saturday afternoon to voice out their opposition to the U.S. Department of the Interior's report recommending improved immigration status to some 20,000 foreign workers in the CNMI.
The gathering also served as a campaign event for two delegate candidates with Carolinian blood-former Gov. Juan N. Babauta and former House Floor Leader Joseph N. Camacho.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, who is a Carolinian, encouraged those at the assembly to participate in a referendum asking their opinion on the Interior report, should such question be posed in the November 2010 elections.
A referendum, also known as a plebiscite or a ballot question, is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal.
Fitial said the specific question to be asked is now being worked on, and is expected to be included in the Nov. 2 ballot.
Fitial addressed the crowd in Carolinian language for 17 minutes which started at 1:57pm.
In his speech, he reiterated the Interior's failure to consult with him or the CNMI government before releasing the report to the U.S. Congress. He said Public Law 110-229 or the federalization law requires such consultation.
The governor also described the Interior report as “seriously defective,” adding that the conclusions regarding the CNMI economy and future need for foreign workers are rebutted by publicly available data and professional economic analysis.
Fitial's reasons for opposing the report also include failure to consider the potential impact of the recommendations on unemployed U.S. citizens in the CNMI and the ability of the CNMI to provide essential public services to its residents. He said any change in status should be considered only in the context of overall immigration reform in the U.S.
Camacho echoed Fitial's opposition to the Interior report, saying it violated the federalization law. Because of the lack of consultation, the Interior report bore a “one-sided recommendation.”
He said he would like to see all able-bodied U.S. citizens in the CNMI to be working either in government or the private sector, and only then should foreign workers be allowed to fill in other positions.
Camacho said he is now working with Rep. Frederick P. Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan) in establishing a master list of available jobs in government and private sector.
Deleon Guerrero drafted a resolution asking U.S. House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife chair Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam) to “reject” the Interior report and conduct hearings in the CNMI on the said report.
Babauta, for his part, said there is already a law that allows foreign workers to apply for U.S. citizenship or other immigration status, and that foreign workers in the CNMI should comply with the same requirements as others applying for such status.
“If anybody wants to become a U.S. citizen, they should stand in line.for fairness,” he told the crowd.
He said the focus of the debate should not be about the granting of U.S. citizenship, but on the CNMI economy, specifically the number of foreign workers needed to sustain and grow the local economy.
“If our delegate is doing his job, we won't be having this discussion today,” said Babauta, who is also a former resident representative of the CNMI to Washington, D.C.
The Interior report, submitted to the U.S. Congress in April, recommends five options that include granting long-term alien workers permanent residency status, U.S. citizenship or a status similar to those granted to citizens of the Freely Associated States.
Dolores Rasiang, a Dandan resident, said she attended the Carolinian gathering to learn more about the referendum and the Interior report.
“I don't support the Interior report 100,000 percent because I want to protect my land,” she said.
Saturday's gathering was reminiscent of the May 29 peaceful assembly held by indigenous Chamorros and Carolinians also to show their opposition to the Interior report. Nonresidents also held a peaceful assembly showing support to the Interior report and recommendations.
Fitial, in an interview later, said he wrote another letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, asking him to respond to his previous letter.
The governor asked Salazar to withdraw the Interior report recommending long-term immigration status for alien workers who have been in the CNMI for at least five years.
Besides Fitial, Camacho, and Babauta, the others who spoke at the Carolinian assembly included Indigenous Affairs Office resident executive director Ignacio Demapan, Carolinian Affairs executive assistant Angie Iginoef-Mangarero, Vice Speaker Felicidad Ogumoro (Cov-Saipan), former Speaker Oscar Rasa, Deputy Labor Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat, Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Melvin Faisao, and Leon I. Taisacan.
Other lawmakers present at the gathering were Rep. Rafael Demapan (Cov-Saipan) and Rep. Stanley Torres (Ind-Saipan), who earlier said that the Interior report will destroy the CNMI.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Letters to the Editor
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Correction in report about new labor regs
I write to correct the errors in the report in the Saipan Tribune about Labor's revised regulations under PL 17-1. This report suggested that there were certain new provisions in the regulations when, in fact, the provisions remain the same as in prior regulations. For example:
Registration. There is nothing new about alien registration in the Commonwealth. Annual registration has been required since the first alien workers came to the Commonwealth in the mid-1980s. The new regulations only shift this responsibility from the old Immigration Division to the Labor Department because the Attorney General has deleted the old immigration regulations under which annual registration was accomplished. The procedural registration provisions remain the same; the office implementing them has changed.
Fees. There is nothing new about Labor fees. If you compare the new fee schedule to the old fee schedule, you will see fees cited in the article have not changed. What has changed is a provision that any employer who pays a federal fee does not have to pay a Commonwealth fee. There is no duplication of fees. Your report did not include that fact. In addition, the moratorium exemption fee has been deleted, as the moratorium is now gone.
Workforce Participation. Your report contains a serious factual error with respect to workforce participation. Your article said: “It [the new regulation] said the number of citizens, U.S. permanent residents or CNMI permanent residents or their immediate relatives shall equal or exceed the number of foreign workers in the private sector workforce unless attainment of this goal is not feasible within the current calendar year after all reasonable efforts have been made by the employer.” That is not correct.
The regulations provide that: “In the workforce of any employer, the percentage of citizens, U.S. permanent residents, and CNMI permanent residents and the immediate relatives of citizens, U.S. permanent residents, and CNMI permanent residents (“status-qualified participants”) employed shall equal or exceed the percentage of status-qualified participants in the private-sector workforce unless attainment of this goal is not feasible within the current calendar year after all reasonable efforts have been made by the employer.”
What this means is that if citizens, U.S. permanent residents, CNMI permanent residents, and their immediate relatives comprise 40 percent of the private-sector workforce, then the benchmark for every private-sector employer is 40 percent. The private-sector workforce is comprised of persons who are employed and persons who are seeking employment. We use the same definitions as the U.S. Department of Labor.
Reporting Requirements. There has been no change in the reporting requirements. The reports required in the new regulations are the same reports as have been required in prior regulations.
Workforce Plan. Only technical changes have been made in the workforce plan requirements to conform to the provisions of PL 17-1. For example, PL 17-1 deleted classifications for jobs, so the references to those classifications in the workforce plan requirements were also deleted. A workforce plan requirement has been in Commonwealth law for a long time.
Jacinta M. Kaipat
Deputy Secretary of Labor
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Correction in report about new labor regs
I write to correct the errors in the report in the Saipan Tribune about Labor's revised regulations under PL 17-1. This report suggested that there were certain new provisions in the regulations when, in fact, the provisions remain the same as in prior regulations. For example:
Registration. There is nothing new about alien registration in the Commonwealth. Annual registration has been required since the first alien workers came to the Commonwealth in the mid-1980s. The new regulations only shift this responsibility from the old Immigration Division to the Labor Department because the Attorney General has deleted the old immigration regulations under which annual registration was accomplished. The procedural registration provisions remain the same; the office implementing them has changed.
Fees. There is nothing new about Labor fees. If you compare the new fee schedule to the old fee schedule, you will see fees cited in the article have not changed. What has changed is a provision that any employer who pays a federal fee does not have to pay a Commonwealth fee. There is no duplication of fees. Your report did not include that fact. In addition, the moratorium exemption fee has been deleted, as the moratorium is now gone.
Workforce Participation. Your report contains a serious factual error with respect to workforce participation. Your article said: “It [the new regulation] said the number of citizens, U.S. permanent residents or CNMI permanent residents or their immediate relatives shall equal or exceed the number of foreign workers in the private sector workforce unless attainment of this goal is not feasible within the current calendar year after all reasonable efforts have been made by the employer.” That is not correct.
The regulations provide that: “In the workforce of any employer, the percentage of citizens, U.S. permanent residents, and CNMI permanent residents and the immediate relatives of citizens, U.S. permanent residents, and CNMI permanent residents (“status-qualified participants”) employed shall equal or exceed the percentage of status-qualified participants in the private-sector workforce unless attainment of this goal is not feasible within the current calendar year after all reasonable efforts have been made by the employer.”
What this means is that if citizens, U.S. permanent residents, CNMI permanent residents, and their immediate relatives comprise 40 percent of the private-sector workforce, then the benchmark for every private-sector employer is 40 percent. The private-sector workforce is comprised of persons who are employed and persons who are seeking employment. We use the same definitions as the U.S. Department of Labor.
Reporting Requirements. There has been no change in the reporting requirements. The reports required in the new regulations are the same reports as have been required in prior regulations.
Workforce Plan. Only technical changes have been made in the workforce plan requirements to conform to the provisions of PL 17-1. For example, PL 17-1 deleted classifications for jobs, so the references to those classifications in the workforce plan requirements were also deleted. A workforce plan requirement has been in Commonwealth law for a long time.
Jacinta M. Kaipat
Deputy Secretary of Labor
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