Over 300 complains of labor law violations
The Division of Employment Services has received over 300 complaints alleging violations of the local preference and related labor laws
Acting Labor Secretary Dean Tenorio reported that the complaints regarding non-compliance with regulatory requirements such as local preference, 20-percent resident workforce, and wage and hour issues were filed with the division in the first five months of 2005.
The CNMI Alien Labor Rules and Regulations require that resident workers, as well as unemployed nonresident workers on island, be given preference in hiring. Each company is also required to have at least 20 percent of its total employees be composed of resident workers.
Tenorio also said that 15,149 jobs were reported vacant by private sector employers. Of these job vacancies, 14,868 were certified and released authorizing the hiring of nonresident workers due to non-availability of resident applicants.
Between January and May, the Employment Services Division registered a total of 552 resident workers. Of the registrants, 273 were referred to available jobs and 148 were hired.
In addition, 4,036 nonresident workers were registered, of which 771 have been referred and placed.
In an earlier interview, DEST director Alfred Pangelinan attributed the low job placement rate to various factors, mostly concerning the workers themselves.
Pangelinan said some of the workers were not actually interested in getting a jobs, but only registered to satisfy requirements set by the Nutrition Assistance Program for food stamp recipients.
He also said that some workers, in their applications, provided contact numbers that were not theirs, leaving the division without means to reach them for job referral.
Others do not show up at job interviews, while those who do lack the training to present their skills to potential employers, he added.
“The law provides preferential treatment for resident workers and it’s our goal to enforce this. But we can only do so much. When we refer a worker and they don’t show up for interviews, it hurts the employers’ confidence in our ability to put good applicants to a job,” Pangelinan said. (Agnes E. Donato)
