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Chamber, HANMI ready for oversight hearing
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Posted on Jul 29 1999
With the scheduled hearing in Washington on Aug. 3 before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Hotel Association of Northern Mariana Islands and the Saipan Chamber of Commerce have prepared their separate position papers opposing the planned federal takeover of local labor and immigration.
The Chamber board of directors met yesterday to finalize the contents of its position paper ,which will be presented by its president, Kerry M. Deets.
HANMI President Ron M. Sablan will be speaking on behalf of the hotel association.
In opposing the planned federalization, the Chamber has always believed that local problems need local solutions.
Deets has said local control on the minimum wage must be maintained by allowing the Legislature and the local chief executive to determine the appropriate levels that must be implemented.
The business sector has emphasized that a federal takeover would create serious economic hardships as the cost of doing business would become prohibitive on the island which is already 25 to 30 percent higher compared to the mainland.
Hotel executives and tour operators have expressed apprehension on the effect of federalization on the recruitment of nonresident workers due to the limited skilled manpower on the island.
The $600-million tourism industry has been battered by Asia’s financial crisis since late last year with the plunge of visitor arrivals and hotel occupancy.
This led Continental Micronesia to remove its direct flights, which are now routed through Guam, the airline’s main hub. Korean Air, which stopped serving the island after the tragic crash on Guam in August last year, has not resumed operations.
Japan, the island’s main market, has yet to come out of the doldrums as it continues to battle its worst recession in decades. Consumers are holding on to their cash, companies are going bankrupt.
While Japan Airlines has been trying its best to promote the CNMI to protect its huge investment on the island, the cutthroat competition in the travel industry such as lower air fare and cheaper tour packages in other Asian destinations are just some of the factors that make it hard for the Northern Marianas to survive.
