Workers’ refusal of offer stumps casino operator

Executives of Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC are stumped as to why workers who worked on the Garapan casino and hotel have refused their overtures to pay them and send them home to China.

According to IPI legal counsel Charles McDonald, there are ongoing negotiations between the 37 workers and the CNMI Department of Labor on their compensation settlement.

“The workers [have] some issues with the calculations,” he said, adding that IPI has been going through the calculations since Thursday last week. “[We’re] hoping to resolve it soon.”

The issues with calculations reportedly confused IPI, as McDonald noted that the initial calculations were based on the representations provided by the workers themselves.

“We feel that we would be able to resolve this shortly,” said McDonald.

Commonwealth Casino Commission chair Juan Sablan told McDonald to “sit down and mediate” the situation before litigation is pursued against IPI.

Commissioner Justin Mangloña questioned how the workers survived over the months with no work and no money. McDonald responded that IPI has been providing humanitarian support for the workers since June 2017. He added that food and water, along with shelter and security, were provided to the workers.

Senate Gaming Committee chair Sen. Justo Quitugua (Ind-Saipan) told Saipan Tribune that he wishes for the workers to come to an agreement with IPI so the workers would return to their families soon.

“I encourage the CCC and the DOL to thoroughly vet the companies who are applying to do contracts with IPI so that we would not have a repeat of the issues we are facing,” he added.

The Senate Gaming Committee was present during Thursday’s CCC meeting.

The 37 workers were offered compensation by IPI after learning that the companies that hired them through a third-party subcontractor, MCC International and Beilida Overseas (CNMI) Ltd. reportedly fled the island.

The workers are demanding that they be paid for not just the work that they have done with the casino resort but also for the time that they have remained without work on Saipan.

IPI had offered to pay them the minimum wage plus overtime and a one-way ticket back to China. The workers have reportedly refused to accept the offer, deeming the amount to be too low.

Saipan Tribune previously reported that the batch prior to the 37 illegal workers received not only the backpay owed them, but also liquidated damages and compensation for their recruitment fees.

Recruitment fees reportedly varied between $3,000 and $10,000 per worker.