CNMI OSHA has no jurisdiction on IPI incident
The CNMI Occupational Safety and Health Administration had no authority to investigate or impose fines on possible violations of employers in a workplace. CNMI OSHA On-Site Consultation Division project manager Mariana Coates made the clarification yesterday in a telephone interview with Saipan Tribune.
Coates made the statement after they received criticisms for failing to act on possible violations committed by the subcontractors of Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC at the construction site of the multi-million dollar Imperial Pacific Resort in Garapan.
A Chinese national plummeted to his death on Wednesday after falling 24 feet from a scaffold. Last week, a trash fire hit the construction site. A photo posted on a social media site also showed a huge pile of debris at the construction site.
Coates said that investigations and imposing fines is the job of the federal OSHA office in Region 9. The CNMI is one of the states and territories under its jurisdiction.
The states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada, and the territories of American Samoa and Guam compose the Region 9 office that is located in San Francisco.
“People in our community need to know that it is the compliance officers and the enforcement office that conduct inspections for any work-related injury that either needs hospitalization or not,” said Coates.
“We have no jurisdiction on this issue, it is not like that. We just basically provide technical assistance and do onsite consultations to employers. CNMI OSHA is separate from enforcement and we don’t issue citations or impose penalties.”
The federal OSHA is one of the umbrella agencies of the U.S. Department of Labor, while CNMI OSHA, although it also receives federal funding, is a division under the local Department of Labor.
According to the local labor department’s website, CNMI OSHA is a U.S. Labor cooperative program for small businesses that offers free and confidential on-site safety advice. They also give health advice to small- and medium-sized businesses and is committed to improving workplace safety and health of employees.
Formal oversight
Rep. Edwin K. Propst (Ind-Saipan) has requested House Speaker Rafael S. Demapan (R-Saipan) to form an oversight in order for IPI and its subcontractors answer questions regarding the incident.
Propst, in the letter, said accidents should not happen if safety is practiced. “With all due respect, there are no accidents when it comes to negligence in the workplace, most especially at a construction site.”
“While the Department of Public Safety is investigating and treating this as an accidental death, there are many questions that need to be answered,” added Propst, who listed 10 questions that nees to be addressed: Was the worker wearing a safety harness? If not, why not? Could this death have been prevented if the worker was wearing a safety harness? Was this death caused by negligence at the construction site? Was 911 called as soon as he fell and did the company wait for the medics to arrive on scene to treat him?
Was the worker moved and placed on a plywood form and transferred to the hospital in a van? Are there any safety officers on site? If so, is it normal protocol to move someone after they have fallen? Is this the first death to occur at the construction site? If there are other deaths, why have they not ever been reported? How many severe injuries have occurred at this construction site? How many have been reported? How many have been permanently paralyzed due to falls? How many workers are trained in administering first-aid and CPR at the construction site? Is there medical equipment and supplies readily available, and is someone trained to treat someone who gets seriously injured on site?
Saipan Tribune also reported yesterday an increase in work-related injuries since 2015, based on documents obtained from the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. The report noted a 370-percent increase from 2015 to 2017.
“It would be good to know how many of these severe injuries came from the casino construction site and what steps have been taken to reduce the number of injuries,” said Propst, who added the oversight is not intended to blame somebody but “to seek answers and to hopefully prevent another death or serious injury” from occurring.
“I understand there are deadlines in place, but we must not allow anyone to sacrifice speed for safety. Every life is sacred and everyone working in the CNMI must be afforded the right to work in a safe environment.”
SOoooo, having an OSHA office in the CNMI Is just a waste of money is what he is saying…
As with CNMI Labor, big mouth with the small companies but _ickless to BS.
in reading kililli weekly news letter, it states and shows him meeting with the Top OSHA in DC along with a graph chart from CHC that shows the dramatic rise in the numbers and types of injuries 2015-2016 (astronomical)
Kilili is requesting and investigation into this in the CNMI.
Point being I guess that very soon all in the local OSHA will indeed know their job.And sinc this is possibly funded will be out of a job.
IF this local OSHA indeed does not have any enforcement ability then I would not be surprised if this agency could/would;d not be eliminated.Especially with Trump Admin projected cut backs. Best suggest it .
in reading kililli weekly news letter, it states and shows him meeting with the Top OSHA in DC along with a graph chart from CHC that shows the dramatic rise in the numbers and types of injuries 2015-2016 (astronomical)
Kilili is requesting and investigation into this in the CNMI.
Point being I guess that very soon all in the local OSHA will indeed know their job.And sinc this is possibly funded will be out of a job.
IF this local OSHA indeed does not have any enforcement ability then I would not be surprised if this agency could/would;d not be eliminated.Especially with Trump Admin projected cut backs. Best suggest it .
Unbelievable! From Coates statement the CNMI can open a door and allow investors and CW in but has no responsibility to keep these people safe,supervised or cared for? From that perspective CNMI OSHA is definitely an uneeded salt-water swamp creature that needs to be flushed. Hear that? Publiclly funded workers who send out notices that they don’t know their job and can’t or won’t do it if asked – really need to be gone. They shouldn’t be paid to do nothing for another year until someone trains them to do it.
This theme of taking no responsibility for “guests” at the party never stops. CW have babies, petition for invitations to invite 3 more family members to come. Some start business but rarely chip in any money themselves. But they do recruit more guests who ask for seconds,thirds and forths from anyfree thing on the buffet table – Tourists flying in without a visa smile and drop 3x more babies a year than locals- These tourists-guests are also committing crimes, bringing in drugs, fradulently selling more visas and purchasing all available land which has driven up prices and caused a housing crisis- Oh and these guests don’t know when to leave. Overstaying their guest passes is common- No problemo!
Nobody notices the locals arent’ having no fun no more. All these partiers keep asking for more and more demanding free services and rights Forever OK! -> all costs,responsibilities and blame forwarded to the mainland. Seriously? Primu Obama never noticed and just sent money but Tihu T seems way less generous!