Garment workers press demands

Hundreds of Chinese garment workers walked out of their jobs in Lower Base yesterday morning and marched to a private hotel in downtown Garapan, where they met with government officials to demand for their rebate checks and a reimbursement in their recruitment fees.

The workers, all belonging to the Concorde Garment factory that had announced its impending closure on Feb. 6, 2007, chanted in Chinese “justice, justice, give us our rebates, give us our recruitment fees” as they marched all the way to Garapan.

“We want out tax rebates. We want our money back,” said the workers. They were referring to the tax rebates that the CNMI government gives back to all taxpayers each year.

The workers also demanded they be reimbursed for the recruitment fees they had paid to agents in China before coming to Saipan.

The protest rally attracted the police department, which deployed about 30 police officers to monitor the activity. The police ended up assisting them find a suitable place to camp out.

When the group reached downtown Garapan, it decided to proceed to Fiesta Resort Spa & Resort, which is owned by the Tan family who also owns Concorde Garment, among other businesses.

The workers were brought to the hotel’s Hibiscus Hall, often used as a venue for summits and big conferences. The management said the room was an ideal site because it has a stage to address the crowd.

The mobilization seemed to be effective as the workers gathered all the right people in one place—the top management of Tan Holdings Corp., the federal Labor Ombudsman, the Attorney General, and several officials, including the police.

Attending to the workers from the management side was no less than Jerry Tan, president of Tan Holdings Corp., a sister company of Concorde Garment.

“We want to assure you that we do things in full compliance with the law. We are here to listen to you and we want to resolve this matter,” said Tan.

He said the company is working closely with both the CNMI and federal governments on issues affecting the workers.

He spoke on stage at least twice and also talked personally with representatives of the workers.

During the negotiation, Tan and Labor Ombudsman Jim Benedetto advised the group to choose five representatives who would be holding talks with the upper management and government officials.

These representatives met separately with Tan and Benedetto.
[B] Proper forum[/B]

Benedetto explained to the workers the process of filing claims before local Labor and federal Ombudsman’s Office. Tan served as his interpreter.

“This is not the proper forum to talk to 500 of you today,” said Benedetto, who told the workers that he could only talk to five of the workers’ representatives to discuss their grievances yesterday.

He said the workers could file their claims in the next few weeks.

“This is America. You have the right to protest. You have the right to express your anger. But it’s not without limits,” Benedetto explained.

He advised the workers to obey the police during their peaceful march on the streets to avoid accidents.

The ombudsman said he is going to write to the CNMI Labor Secretary to open up an agency compliance case to address their problems.

He advised them to check his office next week to set an appointment so they could specify their special problems.

“There is a process at Labor to process your claims. We will be helping with the process to make sure you are treated fairly,” he said.

Benedetto said the recruiters are obliged to give back part of the money if the workers had just come here a few months ago.

He said they would talk with the local government about their rebates before they go back to China.
[B] Expedited rebates[/B]

In his remarks, Attorney General Matthew Gregory said his office would request the Department of Finance to expedite the processing of the workers’ tax rebates.

He said he would look at the possibility of the workers filing their tax rebates for 2006 as early as next month.

“I spoke with the governor this morning to make sure your rebates will be given as early as possible,” Gregory said.

Tax rebates applications are usually submitted in March.

Concorde legal counsel Steve Pixley said the workers want their rebates out before they go back to China. He said some of the workers plan to return home after the factory closure.

Tan, who drew applause from the workers, explained that there is a law in place and that Gregory was there to listen. Tan said every issue would be discussed according to the law.

The workers were then served free lunch, courtesy of Fiesta Resort and Spa.

Businessman and Chinese translator Thomas Cheung said he feels that the garment workers went overboard.

“Look, they trespassed this private place. This is a tourist area. They could just hold their protest in the factory area or someplace else. I think what they are doing is illegal,” he said.

“I am Chinese but I don’t agree with what they’re doing. See, they didn’t work today. They left their work to come here,” he added.

Esther Fleming, the governor’s special assistant for administration, said Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, who is on medical leave in the United States, had been briefed on the matter.

“He knows what’s going on and he talked with the AG before he [AG] came here,” she said.

Fleming said the workers have been going to the Finance Department since Monday to claim their tax rebates.

“I hope they understand that it takes time to process the rebates. There’s also limited resources but I’m sure that they will get what is due them,” she said.

Citing substantial losses due to the 2005 worldwide lifting of trade quotas, Concorde Garment announced that it would shut down its operations on or before Feb. 6 next year.

Concorde, which began operations on Saipan in 1983, is one of the two biggest garment manufacturers on the island. It currently employs 1,400 workers, mostly nonresident workers from China. During its peak of operations in the mid- to late-90s, Concorde used to employ some 3,000 employees.