‘It was a peaceful mobilization’

The nearly 500 garment factory workers’ walkout protest Friday ended up “peacefully” and “amicably,” with protesters getting an assurance from both the management and government that their concerns would be attended to with utmost care.

Steve Pixley, lawyer for Concorde Garment Manufacturing Inc., said in an interview late Friday afternoon that, after a long discussion with the upper management and concerned government officials, the workers willingly left the premises of Fiesta Resort & Spa where they camped out from morning to about 4pm Friday.

The hotel, located in the Garapan commercial district, is owned by Tan Holdings Corp., a sister company of Concorde, where they are employed.

“It all worked out well. Everything was under control. It was peaceful. The workers…designated five representatives to meet with the upper management. They had a long discussion with Mr. Jerry Tan, who speaks Mandarin. They laid down their concerns, which focused on recruitment fees and related issues. Mr. Tan assured them that the company would help the workers out,” said Pixley.

He said the workers began to leave the hotel at about 4pm in batches of 45 people.

The workers were transported by bus from Garapan to their housing units in the Lower Base area.

The workers, he said, had assured the management that they would go back to work Monday.

“They’re satisfied. They spoke to the management, the ombudsman, the AG. We’re working with all of them on this,” he said.

The workers’ protest resulted in production operation shutdown Friday.

Sources said the Chinese workers had mobilized as early as Thursday evening and allegedly got mad at some co-workers who did not cooperate with their protest plan. A source claimed that the protesters had planned a hunger strike.

Pixley denied there was a hunger strike.

He said that the workers were served lunch at the hotel.

“There’s no hunger strike. They had lunch,” he said.

Pixley said that, although the workers’ issues focus mainly on issues outside Concorde’s control—the tax rebate and recruitment fees—the company intends to work closely with concerned agencies for the workers.

The Concorde garment factory recently announced its impending closure on Feb. 6, 2007.

The impending loss of their jobs prompted the workers to demand that they be paid their tax rebates now. The workers also demanded they be reimbursed for the recruitment fees they had paid to agents in China before coming to Saipan.

The police department deployed about 30 police officers to monitor Friday’s protest rally.

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.