Rifu appreciates Immigration’s efforts

The Rifu Apparel Corp., from where a number of illegal workers were arrested Thursday last week, issued a statement on Friday, praising the Division of Immigration for taking a tough stance on illegal aliens on the islands and saying it fully cooperated with investigators.

It also said that it is a victim in this case, having been plagued with false or forged documents that have been provided by “broker”-type middleman preying on displaced workers.

In the meantime, the company said that it is now evaluating two suppliers that would make laser style employment badges that cannot be duplicated.

“All employees will be required to wear these badges on company property and only senior management will be allowed to distribute them. The plan will eliminate the chance that lower level staff can create their own business and allow unauthorized people on company premises,” the company said.

It said the ongoing investigation by Immigration and Labor will determine how and who approved the tourist visas of the nearly 30 overstaying aliens who were arrested at its worksite.

“The April 27, 2006 actions taken by [Division] of Immigration serves as an example of how this administration is getting tough on illegal aliens. RIFU fully cooperated with Immigration investigators when told of their concerns and assisted [it] in apprehending [the] overstaying aliens,” Rifu said.

Reportedly, with the company’s assistance, one rogue employee was identified as the ringleader who conducted a business within the company.

“[The] company has launched an internal investigation to uncover any other participants. Those found to have participated will be suspended or face possible termination,” the Rifu statement said.

It alleged that garment sub-contractors are hiring workers who have transferred from companies that have ceased operations, or workers who have abandoned their original employer, or overstayed their expired contracts or arrived as tourists.

Dozens of sub-contractors have been allowed to operate for years with limited monitoring. These companies do not have worker ceilings. Garment companies are regulated and limited by the garment ceiling allocation of 15,727 workers.

“Too many workers have been granted [Temporary Work Authorization] status and the labor market is filled with them,” Rifu said.

Labor is currently tightening regulations on granting TWA status on workers and new legislation is being proposed that will limit the conditions of getting a TWA status.

Labor recently resolved labor cases dating back to 10 years involving workers signing one-year contracts but who were allowed to stay for 10 years on island.

“Why was this allowed to happen under previous administrations? The new Secretary of Labor has done a creditable job at addressing this issue,” Rifu said.

It said that Immigration has offered to open a hotline to prospective employers to determine the status of an individual before documents are filed or a worker is hired. (PR)