‘NMI labor conditions have improved’

I am extremely disappointed in Ms. magazine’s sensationalist coverage of the labor situation in the Northern Marianas. I spent many hours with the author of the article, and with her editor, trying to give them some balance on the issues. I informed them that significant progress in addressing labor abuses has been made since the creation of the Federal Ombudsman’s Office, and the past several years have seen some solid accomplishments by the government of the CNMI.

These include the cooperative relationship between the Ombudsman’s Office, federal enforcement agencies, the CNMI government and foreign consulates; the agreements negotiated between the CNMI government and the Chinese Economic Development Association to pre-screen Chinese nationals coming to work in the CNMI, limit the fees the workers can be charged by approved recruiters, and to intercede on the workers’ behalf when a dispute arises; comprehensive revision of the Alien Labor Rules & Regulations to guarantee due process rights to alien worker complainants; and establishment of a refugee protection program.

I also informed Ms. that in my opinion, labor conditions have improved significantly since the late 1990s. For example, the number of workers who sought the Federal Ombudsman’s assistance is down from 1,221 in 1999 to 549 in 2005. The number of complaints filed annually has been reduced from 962 to its current level of less than 500. In addition, the nature of the complaints is decidedly more mundane, on average, than it was seven or eight years ago. The largest single complaint we see is non-payment of wages, which although serious, is a far cry from the type of violations that were routine in the late ‘90s.

I also informed Ms. that the Federal Ombudsman’s Office has been an extremely effective advocate for nonresident workers since the office was created by the U.S. Congress. While Ms. dismissed us as being able to do little more than offer translation services and referral, we have assisted over 5,000 alien workers since 1998, and helped them recover millions of dollars in lost wages and other damages.

One type of violation Ms. asked about—forced abortions—was emphatically denied by me, and every other official in a position to have heard or received such complaints. Since I joined the Ombudsman’s Office in 2002, there have been no reported complaints of coerced abortions. Despite this information having been conveyed to Ms., they repeatedly asked about forced abortions.

This is not to say there are not still serious problems with labor violations against nonresident workers in the CNMI, including situations such as those reported by the media at the Starlite and Stardust Clubs, illegal recruitment scams, widespread non-payment of wages, and lengthy delays in resolving worker complaints. I have pressed for action on these issues, and the response from federal and local government enforcement agencies has been positive. There is still room for improvement.

The fact that serious labor violations still occur is not news; such violations still occur on the U.S. mainland, in spite of the best efforts of state and federal enforcement agencies. What is important is how the CNMI government responds when such violations occur. I am satisfied that we are making progress in the CNMI, and I will continue to support the local government’s prevention and enforcement efforts on labor issues.

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James Benedetto is the federal ombudsman of the Office of Insular Affairs.