Pinoys in CNMI protest 'exit' rule every 3.5 yrs
HAIDEE V. EUGENIO, GMANews.TV
11/13/2007 | 01:53 PM
CAPITAL HILL, Saipan – Filipinos describe as “ridiculous, inhuman and anti-worker" the new CNMI labor reform law which will require the estimated 20,000 foreign workers -- mostly from the Philippines and China -- to “exit" the CNMI every three-and-a half years beginning in 2011.
The workers have to remain outside the CNMI for six months before they are allowed to go back to the commonwealth to work for the same employer.
The exit requirement may be spread across the three-and-a-half years at the convenience of employers and employees.
The law, which will take effect on Jan. 1, 2008, also prohibits foreign workers to transfer jobs at any time before and after the expiration of their contract.
Currently, Pinoys and workers from other countries are allowed to transfer jobs in the middle of their contracts provided their present employer consents to it.
In every corner where Pinoys converge – from offices to restaurants, churches, picnics and even beauty parlors – the restrictive provisions of Public Law 15-108 or the Commonwealth Labor Act of 2007 are always the main topic of conversations.
“Any labor law should always be pro-worker, but this one is not; it’s actually one of the worst," Cherry Amparo, a 27-year-old advertising representative on Saipan, told GMANews.TV.
“This law is harsh as it will bring difficulties for employees to transfer to other companies. As a result, there will be lesser opportunities and you'll be stuck in your job forever," added Amparo, from Cavite in the Philippines.
On Wednesday night, five groups of foreign workers will hold a prayer rally against the new labor reform law, signed by CNMI Gov. Benigno R. Fitial Friday.
“We are condemning this law," Human Dignity Movement president Jerry Custodio told GMANews.TV Sunday night.
“The governor made it clear that the purpose of this law is to prevent us foreign workers from availing of the nonimmigrant provision of a US Senate bill should it become law. He doesn’t have a heart.
"Masakit isipin lalo na sa mga Filipino, lalo na at alam naman nating lahat na ang asawa ng governor ay Filipina," said Custodio, 42, of Tacloban in the Philippines.
The governor said the exit requirement is designed “to prevent the aliens from making the CNMI their home and making them eligible for permanent resident status (under future federal immigration law)."
The CNMI government enacted the 64-page bill into law amidst threat of a federal government takeover of CNMI immigration through two pending bills in the US Congress. One of two bills has a provision granting nonimmigrant status to guest workers who have been working legally in the CNMI for at least five years.
“With the three-and-a-half year exit requirement, who would qualify for the nonimmigrant status if the law is signed by Bush?" said Custodio.
He added that the enactment of the new local law makes it more important for the workers groups to petition the U.S. Congress to retain the provisions in the two pending bills that grant nonimmigrant status to long-term foreign workers in the CNMI.
A nonimmigrant status allows workers to freely travel, work and study in the U.S. mainland and its territories, including the CNMI and Guam.
The comprehensive labor reform law, which replaces legislation that had governed nonresident hiring in the CNMI for the past 24 years, also prohibits guest workers to transfer to another employer at the end of their contract.
This means they have to immediately leave the CNMI if their contract is not renewed. Should the workers choose to continue working in the CNMI, the new employer should hire them from the Philippines or other countries.
The only time a nonresident worker may transfer to another employer is when a CNMI Department of Labor hearing officer allows it by administrative order.
This means that, in order to move to a new employer, a foreign worker must first file a complaint and prove to the Department of Labor that his rights have been violated by the former employer.
The business sector in the CNMI led by the Saipan Chamber of Commerce and the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands strongly opposes the new labor law which they say make it harder for them to run their business if their workers have to exit the CNMI for six months after three-and-a-half years.
Of particular concern to the private sector have been provisions that require foreign workers to exit the CNMI periodically, maintain the Moratorium Law, raise to 30 percent from 20 percent the minimum percentage of local workers in private firms, and eliminate job transfers.
Even owners of farms and ranches are opposed to the law. They ask who will take care of their farms of their foreign farm workers are out of the CNMI for six months.
Federal Labor Ombudsman Jim Benedetto expressed concern over the labor law’s damaging effects on foreign workers in the CNMI. He said the law may result in unfair treatment of guest workers.
He said the CNMI Department of Labor administrative hearing transfer should have had more legal support.
He said he would like to see more types of violations where the hearing office has the freedom to grant transfers because a worker's rights were violated and the worker should get the benefit of the contract and his or her stay in the CNMI.
The CNMI government is now working on the rules and regulations to implement the new law. Once the final draft is done, the public will be given 30 days to comment on the regulations prior to adoption. - Haidee V. Eugenio, GMANews.TV
The workers have to remain outside the CNMI for six months before they are allowed to go back to the commonwealth to work for the same employer.
The exit requirement may be spread across the three-and-a-half years at the convenience of employers and employees.
The law, which will take effect on Jan. 1, 2008, also prohibits foreign workers to transfer jobs at any time before and after the expiration of their contract.
Currently, Pinoys and workers from other countries are allowed to transfer jobs in the middle of their contracts provided their present employer consents to it.
In every corner where Pinoys converge – from offices to restaurants, churches, picnics and even beauty parlors – the restrictive provisions of Public Law 15-108 or the Commonwealth Labor Act of 2007 are always the main topic of conversations.
“Any labor law should always be pro-worker, but this one is not; it’s actually one of the worst," Cherry Amparo, a 27-year-old advertising representative on Saipan, told GMANews.TV.
“This law is harsh as it will bring difficulties for employees to transfer to other companies. As a result, there will be lesser opportunities and you'll be stuck in your job forever," added Amparo, from Cavite in the Philippines.
On Wednesday night, five groups of foreign workers will hold a prayer rally against the new labor reform law, signed by CNMI Gov. Benigno R. Fitial Friday.
“We are condemning this law," Human Dignity Movement president Jerry Custodio told GMANews.TV Sunday night.
“The governor made it clear that the purpose of this law is to prevent us foreign workers from availing of the nonimmigrant provision of a US Senate bill should it become law. He doesn’t have a heart.
"Masakit isipin lalo na sa mga Filipino, lalo na at alam naman nating lahat na ang asawa ng governor ay Filipina," said Custodio, 42, of Tacloban in the Philippines.
The governor said the exit requirement is designed “to prevent the aliens from making the CNMI their home and making them eligible for permanent resident status (under future federal immigration law)."
The CNMI government enacted the 64-page bill into law amidst threat of a federal government takeover of CNMI immigration through two pending bills in the US Congress. One of two bills has a provision granting nonimmigrant status to guest workers who have been working legally in the CNMI for at least five years.
“With the three-and-a-half year exit requirement, who would qualify for the nonimmigrant status if the law is signed by Bush?" said Custodio.
He added that the enactment of the new local law makes it more important for the workers groups to petition the U.S. Congress to retain the provisions in the two pending bills that grant nonimmigrant status to long-term foreign workers in the CNMI.
A nonimmigrant status allows workers to freely travel, work and study in the U.S. mainland and its territories, including the CNMI and Guam.
The comprehensive labor reform law, which replaces legislation that had governed nonresident hiring in the CNMI for the past 24 years, also prohibits guest workers to transfer to another employer at the end of their contract.
This means they have to immediately leave the CNMI if their contract is not renewed. Should the workers choose to continue working in the CNMI, the new employer should hire them from the Philippines or other countries.
The only time a nonresident worker may transfer to another employer is when a CNMI Department of Labor hearing officer allows it by administrative order.
This means that, in order to move to a new employer, a foreign worker must first file a complaint and prove to the Department of Labor that his rights have been violated by the former employer.
The business sector in the CNMI led by the Saipan Chamber of Commerce and the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands strongly opposes the new labor law which they say make it harder for them to run their business if their workers have to exit the CNMI for six months after three-and-a-half years.
Of particular concern to the private sector have been provisions that require foreign workers to exit the CNMI periodically, maintain the Moratorium Law, raise to 30 percent from 20 percent the minimum percentage of local workers in private firms, and eliminate job transfers.
Even owners of farms and ranches are opposed to the law. They ask who will take care of their farms of their foreign farm workers are out of the CNMI for six months.
Federal Labor Ombudsman Jim Benedetto expressed concern over the labor law’s damaging effects on foreign workers in the CNMI. He said the law may result in unfair treatment of guest workers.
He said the CNMI Department of Labor administrative hearing transfer should have had more legal support.
He said he would like to see more types of violations where the hearing office has the freedom to grant transfers because a worker's rights were violated and the worker should get the benefit of the contract and his or her stay in the CNMI.
The CNMI government is now working on the rules and regulations to implement the new law. Once the final draft is done, the public will be given 30 days to comment on the regulations prior to adoption. - Haidee V. Eugenio, GMANews.TV
