Labor halts MOU with feds on TWA

The Department of Labor and Immigration ended yesterday a memorandum of understanding with federal labor officials that allows them to refer guest workers with pending labor cases for temporary work authorization or TWA issued by the CNMI government.

DOLI informed the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WH) in San Francisco about the termination ahead of its effective date on Sept. 16, 2000, exactly 30 days based on its terms.

In canceling the MOU, Labor and Immigration Sec. Mark D. Zachares accused the division’s representatives on Saipan of abusing the agreement in a recent labor case in which more than 150 workers left their employer.

While hopeful for a resolution when he attempted to address the problem with federal officials early last month, the DOLI chief said it was unfortunate that the WH staff on Saipan has failed to resolve the issue.

“I am of the belief that the current situation is untenable,” he wrote to WH District Director John M. Glyder who is based in San Francisco, CA.

Signed during the previous administration between the CNMI and the federal labor office, the MOU arbitrarily grants the latter control over labor cases here brought by employees.

It permits the WH to refer guest workers to DOLI for the issuance of TWA which is required by the island government in order for them to continue working in other companies while their cases are being heard.

No control

In the recent case, the federal labor office issued more than 150 requests for memorandum from one employer — a situation that has sparked a host of problems for the CNMI government, according to Mr. Zachares.

Chief among which were loss of confidence by nonresident workers in DOLI to deal with their case as well as precedence the case has set in encouraging other workers to leave their current employers.

“While we realize that WH would not request 150 memoranda unless it believed it had a strong case, it seems that the WH investigators in charge are not in control of the case,” he told Mr. Glyder.

DOLI has provided assistance to 70 workers in that WH case involving a garment manufacturing firm, while 40 have withdrawn after leaving the factory and sought protection under the billion-dollar class action suit against Saipan’s apparel industry.

But Mr. Zachares disclosed that when a worker sought protection under a CNMI case and asked to back out, they were told that they would not be allowed to do so.

He criticized WH officials on Saipan for their failure to further investigate this particular case through discussion with the employer, noting that they even blamed DOLI for acting in bad faith and creating the problem.

Illegal employment

Likewise, the case has created problems within the local garment industry as representatives from rival factories have been encouraging employees to sign up for labor cases, said Mr. Zachares.

This has led to an increase in illegal employment because the employees from this case seeking temporary work have been taken advantage by other employers based on evidence in a large case that DOLI recently opened, he added.

“We believe the problems from the WH case will not manifest themselves completely for several months,” Mr. Zachares said in the letter.

Another consequence of the WH action was the recent protest staged by a group of employees at the Governor’s Office, which the DOLI secretary claimed was ignored by its Saipan representatives although it was their case.

“In the midst of these problems, I am amazed that the WH office on Saipan will be closed next week since all of the investigators will be off-island,” said Mr. Zachares. “This is not what was envisaged in the MOU and needs to be corrected.”

During the next 30 days, DOLI will restrict the number of requests for referral to three per investigation. “I fear that the problems which have manifested themselves recently will be exploited by the WH staff on Saipan during the time remaining,” he said.

Mr. Zachares, however, is still open to another negotiation for a new MOU as part of his department’s commitment to a “working relationship” with the federal labor office.