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CNMI labor reforms working: RP consul
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Posted on Jan 22 1999
Labor reforms instituted by the Northern Marianas to protect foreign workers are working, at least for most Filipino migrant workers, Philippine Consul to the CNMI Julie Heidemann yesterday said.
She said labor cases that would normally take months to be processed are now immediately acted on. Labor and Immigration Secretary Mark Zachares has also made efforts to hold a bi-monthly dialogue with Consulate officials to discuss labor issues and problems concerning Filipino workers.
“The relationship of the governments of the CNMI and RP had its ups and downs, but since Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio assumed office, we managed to put up structural mechanisms to reinforce close cooperation and close coordination,” Heidemann said.
She said this has since resulted in the sudden drop in the number of labor cases filed by Filipino workers despite rampant downsizing in many private establishments due to the worsening economic crisis. She did not provide exact figures.
“Labor cases went down dramatically. It’s too quiet despite the economic crisis,” the diplomat said.
At 18,000 Filipinos are still considered the single biggest ethnic group of foreign workers in the Northern Marianas as of November 1998.
During the past years, Filipino workers have the most number of labor cases, mostly involving unpaid wages. This nearly strained the relationship of both governments.
But now, although Filipinos remain the biggest foreign group here, recent labor-abuse complaints come mostly from Bangladeshis and Chinese. Both nationals have no diplomatic representatives in the Northern Marianas.
Records from the local labor and immigration office showed that labor complaints filed in 1998 dropped by as much as 42 percent compared to that of the previous year. Only 930 labor complaints were filed in 1998 in contrast to 1,279 in 1997.
