Heinz: Inaction on local bill reason why
The failure of the CNMI Legislature to locally enact a wage increase is what prodded the U.S. Congress to sponsor a bill increasing the existing minimum wage, according to House Rep. Heinz Hofschneider yesterday.
Hofschneider also asked the House Committee on Ways and Means for the status of his House Bill 14-30, which intended to raise the minimum wage and eliminate certain statutory requirements imposed on employers.
In a media briefing yesterday, Hofschneider said the CNMI must abide with the U.S.-CNMI Covenant by sponsoring its own minimum wage increase to show the federal government that the CNMI has progressed and has the ability to raise its wage level.
“This measure also got the support of the employers because it would relieve them of certain burdens. Under the Covenant there should be an increase in the economy,” said the congressman.
He pointed out that his bill, which he introduced early this year, has remained stuck at the committee level. Aside from relief to employers, Hofschneider believes that if the wage level is increased, resident workers would be encouraged to work in the private sector.
During the House session yesterday, Hofschneider said that, if ever a federal takeover happens, the only thing to blame is the waste of time.
Ways and Means Committee chair Norman Palacios said that Hofschneider’s the bill is still being reviewed and the committee is not done with its analysis.
The issue of minimum wage increase was opened yesterday a day after it was reported that both chambers in Congress had introduced two bills that would increase the minimum wage in the CNMI from the current $3.05 to $3.55 an hour 60 days upon it becomes a law.
Hofschneider’s bill, called the Revised Wage Structure Act of 2004, raises the minimum wage to $5 per hour.
The measure also proposes to amend some provisions, including striking out any agreement or condition that may be imposed on employers requiring the furnishing of lodging, meals, or worksite transportation at employers’ expense.
