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‘Sponsorship schemes’ on the rise, says Labor
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Posted on Apr 10 2008
The closure of many garment factories and other establishments has resulted in more alien workers engaging in sponsorship schemes.
“We are seeing sponsorship issues left to right,” Labor Secretary Gil M. San Nicolas told Saipan Tribune.
San Nicolas said that since being appointed Labor Secretary under the Fitial administration, the department has been continuously investigating sponsorship schemes.
“We will continue to investigate any allegations or information that come regarding sponsorship and deal with them in a proper manner,” he said.
Since January 2008, six garment factories have already closed, affecting close to a thousand workers. The closure of garment manufacturer Kyungseung (Saipan) Inc. this May 24 will render jobless about 141 more alien workers and 13 resident workers.
Aside from the closures of many garment factories, San Nicolas said they have received information that because other jobless employees are desperate to find employers, they would ask just about anyone who can hire them—not necessarily for employment but as it is, as a sponsor.
“But again I cannot emphasize enough that as far as the Department of Labor is concerned, sponsorship does not exist. We’ve been emphasizing this many, many times,” he said.
Under the sponsorship, San Nicolas said, desperate employees are just trying to remain in the Commonwealth but not for employment reasons.
“That has to be stopped. And we encourage legitimate employers to hire employees because they need workers and not to legalize their stay on the islands or for other purpose,” he added.
Sponsorships refer to the purported hiring of alien workers, not necessarily to employ them but in exchange for cash, just so the alien worker can continue his or her stay in the CNMI. This is illegal.
