Lights out for alien workers?

Unless a law is signed in the next four days extending their employment, nonresident workers at Commonwealth Utilities Corp.-Saipan are sure to lose their jobs.

CUC executive director Lorraine A. Babauta acknowledged this in her Sept. 2, 2005 memorandum to affected employees.

“If the law is not amended, CUC will not be able legally to continue your employment beyond Sept. 30, 2005. Please inform Human Resources whether you will be seeking employment elsewhere in the Commonwealth or whether you will be repatriating to your country of origin,” said Babauta in her “notice of intent to renew” to individual nonresident workers.

This developed as the Senate passed a bill last week, which in its original version, only extends the hiring of alien workers in other agencies, including CUC Rota and Tinian, but not CUC Saipan.

However, the final version of the bill, Senate Bill 14-98 substitute draft 4, according to senators, was amended on the floor during a session Wednesday afternoon, granting extension to “professional engineers”, not “technical” people at CUC Saipan.

“In my recollection, after Sept. 30, they are to leave their jobs unless they are professional engineers. The exemption is only for engineers,” said Saipan Sen. Pete P. Reyes.

For his part, Saipan Sen. Thomas “Kiyu” P. Villagomez said that the floor amendment grants exemption to “all nonresident workers working at power generation plant.”

These changes, however, were not yet reflected in the copy issued by the Senate Clerk office as of Friday afternoon.

As transmitted by the clerk office, S.B. 14-98 SD4, the hiring extension is granted to CUC “engineers, technical and professional employees only for the First and Second Senatorial Districts [Tinian and Rota]” until Sept. 30, 2007.

Meantime, CUC’s Babauta said that affected nonresident workers would have until Nov. 14, 2005 to legally stay in the CNMI in view of the mandated 45-day grace period.

In her memo, Babauta said that her office has asked the Legislature to grant CUC further extension of its exemption from the Nonresident Workers Act provision barring government from employing nonresident workers.

The sunset provision expires for all government agencies on Friday, Sept. 30, 2005.

In her Sept. 2 memorandum, Babauta said, “As of this date there has not been an amendment of the law. We’re still hopeful that law will be amended prior to the expiration of your contract.”

Sources from the CUC said that the agency’s Human Resources office will have a dialogue with Gov. Juan N. Babauta today on the issue.

There are about 70 workers at the power generation plant. Most of them are nonresident workers.

Other guest workers are assigned at CUC’s water division, wastewater division, power distribution system, as well as in services such as information technology and accounting.

‘Follow the sunset provision’

Meanwhile, Saipan Sen. Luis P. Crisostimo, who co-authored S.B. 14-98 with Tinian Sen. Henry S. San Nicolas, said in an interview that the original extension was only granted to Tinian and Rota CUC because other Saipan senators object to the continued hiring of foreign workers for the utility firm.

“The Saipan senators (Pete Reyes, Tom Villagomez) want Saipan CUC not to hire nonresident workers for the very reason that it’s the old contract provision. They just don’t want anymore nonresident workers working in CUC, whether its mechanic, engineer, or accountant,” said Crisostimo when asked why the coverage was limited only to the First and Second Senatorial Districts.

For Saipan, he said it means “when their [nonresidents] contracts expire, they will not be renewed because the law expires this month.”

Crisostimo said S.B. 14-98 is “a compromise bill” since it came as a result of a conference committee between House and Senate members, on a similar measure, House Bill 14-344.

The House earlier rejected the Senate amendments to H.B. 14-344, which originally wanted to give the Department of Public Health 10 years extension and a two-year contract term to offer its guest workers.

The senate had lowered the reprieve to two years and one-year contract terms and it included Department of Public Works, Department of Commerce, and Commonwealth Utilities Corp. in the bill’s coverage.

In an unnumbered conference committee report, the Legislature reportedly endorsed five years for DPH and two years each for other agencies.

Meantime, S.B. 14-98 aims to grant the DPH five years or up to Sept. 30, 2010 to hire physicians and dentists and two years or up to Sept. 30, 2007 to hire other health professional workers.

The senate bill gives the Department of Commerce two years and Department of Public Works one year or until Sept. 30, 2006.