SGMA inspects apparel factories

Local garment industry officials are currently doing the rounds of factories to check on the latter’s compliance with the conditions and standards set forth under a partnership agreement garment companies forged with US Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The voluntary inspections which started Monday are meant to give Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association member factories leeway and assistance under the so-called Excellence 2000 Program, to prepare them for the next scheduled visit of enforcers from the federal labor agency.

“We’d like to go through our membership to make sure everything is okay when OSHA representatives visit them either in May or June,” SGMA Executive Director Richard A. Pierce said. “This is part of the normal activity we have pertaining to Excellence 2000.

The SGMA-OSHA program encourages employers to carry out many of the routine safety and health inspections now done by OSHA in order, “to eliminate workplace risks by establishment of model practices for safety and health.”

Under the program, companies must apply to participate and must agree to develop a formal safety and health effort closely following OSHA guidelines for their factories and dormitories.

As part of the program, companies will agree “to allow OSHA to inspect without delay in the event of a catastrophe, fatality, complaint or referral.”

In exchange, OSHA will limit its inspections to compliance with the program and provide training to assist the effort.

SGMA recently earned praise from OSHA’s Region IX Administrator Frank Strasheim who noted that Saipan’s garment factories “have made improvements in a startling and impressive fashion,” enough to become the “models in the industry.”

Such improvements have been attributed to the Excellence 2000 partnership.

“Our basic goal is to help members ensure the safety and health of their workers both in the workplace and their living quarters,” said Excellence Committee 2000 Chairperson Anne Castro-Cepeda. “That is achieved by way of education and training.”

Ms. Cepeda, who is the resident manager for Mariana Fashions, clarified that the inspections being conducted by her committee are in no way meant to “witch-hunt” or penalize members, but merely to guide them towards meeting the goals of the agreement.

“We want to make sure that everyone is oriented with one set of standards that fits all factories so that there will be a single, common effective effort,” said Ms. Cepeda.

Sam Marianas personnel manager Joe S. Salas, who chairs Excellence 2000’s Compliance Committee, for his part said the inspections are actually an effort to reach out to the companies and help them avoid any potential problems in the future.

“We want our factories to become model factories not only for the U.S. but the rest of the world,” said Mr. Salas.