Kyungseung shuts down

Garment manufacturer Kyungseung (Saipan) Inc. shut down operations on Saturday, rendering 113 alien workers jobless.

Labor Administrative Hearing Officer Jerry Cody on Friday revoked the work permits of all 113 foreign workers effective on the day of closure.

Cody, however, granted all workers the opportunity to find jobs with new employers. He gave them seven days from Friday to register with the Labor Division of Employment Services.

“Each worker may seek a transfer employer provided that a transfer employer must be located and the name of the employer must be submitted to Employment Services within 30 days after the issuance of this order,” he said.

If any worker fails to find an employer within the 30-day transfer period, that worker shall be required to report to Jeffrey Camacho of the Labor Enforcement Section within five days in order to arrange for his or her repatriation.

Cody said any refusal or failure by the worker to depart the CNMI shall result in the worker’s name being forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General for deportation proceedings.

If a worker applies to transfer to another garment manufacturer under the same job category, the job vacancy announcement requirements shall be waived by Labor’s Employment Services, Cody said.

If the employee asks for repatriation or fails to find a new employer within the required 30-day period, Cody said the employer of record shall be notified and must provide a repatriation ticket within 15 days.

He said if the employees have any additional claims against the factory, they are instructed to present the claims to Labor investigators Carlos Camacho and Frank Aguon within 30 days from Friday, May 23.

Last May 6, Labor granted early transfer rights to 18 alien workers of the Sadog Tasi-based factory.

Of the 18 factory workers (all Chinese), three canceled their request and expressed intent to go back to China.

Labor administrative hearing officer Herbert D. Soll said the 18 are among the workers holding permits with longer validity than the intended operations of the company.

Labor determined that the 18 are not at fault and that they have the right to transfer to another employer.

At that time, garment manufacturer Uno Moda Corp. was reportedly waiting to receive the 18 workers.

Kyungseung general manager Gyeong Bog Lee earlier said that the company is closing down due to the adverse economic condition brought by the application of the Federal Minimum Wage Act in the CNMI, the trade competition in China and other Asian countries, the increased costs of doing business in the CNMI, and lack of orders.

With the closure, only six garment factories remain on Saipan. The CNMI used to have 34 garment factories, all located on Saipan.

In the early part of 2008, six garment factories closed down, affecting close to a thousand workers.

Many garment factories on the island started ceasing operations since January 2005 when the World Trade Organization lifted trade quotas.