Chamber starts work on prevailing wage survey

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce has started work on a long-awaited prevailing wage survey which, among other things, is needed by CNMI employers to support their applications for U.S. work visas for their foreign employees.

But the Fitial administration said it will be commissioning its own wage study.

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce, the largest business organization in the CNMI with some 150 members, has combined with numerous business organizations and groups for the survey.

It will contract with a firm specializing in extensive services in wage and salary management and prevailing wage surveys.

Saipan Tribune learned that the contract will be awarded to the Guam Employers Council, and the contract alone could cost anywhere between $10,000 and $15,000.

The whole survey project could cost some $20,000, inclusive of the prevailing wage survey contract with the Guam Employers Council, said Chamber executive director Richard Pierce.

Douglas Brennan, president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement that they are “overwhelmed with the response to conducting this badly needed survey.”

“We also appreciate the efforts of all those organizations that have volunteered to help with the work so we can help each other prepare for the changing challenges associated with foreign labor under federal authority,” Brennan said.

Pierce, when asked for further information, said the Chamber is now preparing the directory of participants.

“SCC has had contact with all the organizations whose membership will participate. SCC has been in contact with U.S. Labor in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. about the survey and its methodology,” he told Saipan Tribune yesterday.

The survey will provide valuable data for the process of determining prevailing wage rates for individual job classifications, while petitioning for foreign labor work visas under the new requirements of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Foreign Labor Certification Office, Chamber said.

The prevailing wage is different from—and is generally higher than—the minimum wage, which is currently $5.05 an hour in the CNMI.

Without a CNMI prevailing wage survey, CNMI employers will be forced to pay the rates similar to those of other U.S. states and territories that are much higher and not reflective of the conditions in the local economy.

Many CNMI employers have long been seeking clarification on whose responsibility it is to conduct prevailing wage surveys that they need to apply for H visas for their foreign workers.

The Chamber’s survey work comes some 19 months since the federal government took control of CNMI immigration.

While he is not aware of the specifics of the survey the Chamber is planning, press secretary Angel Demapan said “the government will be commissioning its own prevailing wage study to ensure that the end results are fair and impartial.”

“It is the position of the administration that such a survey be spearheaded by the government,” he said.

Early this year, the CNMI Department of Labor said it has been working in the last two years to put in place capability to do prevailing wage surveys.

It said once federal funding is applied for and approved, it can start accepting requests for surveys from businesses that need them.

This is based on Labor’s 2010 annual report to members of the House and Senate.

Pierce said the “more surveys done, the better.”

“And the sooner the better,” he said.

Pierce said as far as being fair and impartial, “it is the CNMI business community itself that the CNMI government would need to survey.”

“We have always intended to collaborate with the CNMI government, and that is still our intention,” he added.

In a statement, the Chamber said it has discussed the project with the CNMI’s departments of Commerce and Labor “to collaborate its efforts with the CNMI to allow businesses to utilize vital wage survey results in processing petitions for foreign labor employment visas in the CNMI.”

The copyrighted survey report will be made available to anyone that participates in the survey at no cost, and will be presented to the CNMI government when completed, the group said.

The Chamber will host a number of presentations before and during the survey sampling and polling of businesses and offices.

Presentations will begin this week at association meetings.

The Chamber said those already committing their participation in the survey include the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Marianas Visitors Authority, the Society of Human Resources Management, the Rotary Club of Saipan, the Saipan Contractors Association, the Bankers Association, members of the CNMI Bar Association, medical clinicians, the Nurse’s Association, private and public schools, the Commonwealth Auto Dealers Association, the Accountancy Board, the Insurance Association, local media groups, engineers and oil companies, shipping and transportation companies, golf courses, tour agents and operators, trade groups, and various foreign organizations.

The Chamber said it will introduce the prevailing wage contractor at its July general membership meeting and host a public presentation at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe.

For inquiries about participation in the survey, the public should contact the Saipan Chamber of Commerce at 233-7150/233-7152, or email coordinator@saipanchamber.com.