Torres: We are working on CW issues
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres assured that he and other community members are working on a long-term fix to the labor crisis besetting the CNMI.
Torres said yesterday that his administration and other stakeholders are working on a CW-1 bill to propose to Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP).
“For several months now, we have been working on a CW bill for the long run, including an extension, and the number of CW-1 slots we are requesting,” said the governor.
Torres is working with members of the private sector through the Strategic Economic Develop Council and the Northern Marianas Business Alliance Corp.
Torres, however, has yet to meet with Sablan regarding the CW-1 package.
He said he appreciates the 350 slots added to the CNMI’s CW-1 quota for the fiscal year, thanks to Sablan’s H.R. 339, which U.S. President Donald J. Trump enacted last week.
“… Ultimately, lives are going to be saved [with] nurses and engineers and so forth. … Our goal is to increase [the CW-1 slots] to 18,000 and then extend it for another 10 years,” said Torres on the goals of the CW package.
“It is our job to make sure that Congress understands our situation and to advocate our situations here,” said the governor, adding that what he wishes from Congress is not a bailout but to “not restrict hiring our labor because without our workforce we won’t be able to develop our infrastructure.”
Torres wishes that the local government is more involved in discussions as well to “dictate what our goals are here.”
“Without the government’s involvement, it is very difficult to project what kind of workforce is being applied,” said Torres, without mentioning a specific timeline for the package as well as a timeline for when he is meeting with Sablan.
In previous interviews with Sablan, he reiterated multiple times that H.R. 339 is meant to be a short-term fix.
After decades, and extensions and warnings with past and present Admins, and lobbyists to keep this CW program in perpetuation, NOW these guys are working for a “long time fix”?
This will be interesting to see what hey will come up with other than the “status quo”
It is almost a certainty that the Chinese are heavily involved in this “fix”.
Any “fix” should be job specific and any worker recruitment should be terminated at the end of the project and the “worker” be sent back from whence they came.
Much like what was “supposed” to have been done on the original agreement when this was approved to bring in “guest workers” to work alongside “local” workers and train them then go home.
Instead the private sector along with the Govt. employees found a cheap source of labor, changes the laws so all could have a house worker and cheap labor in the private sector.
ALSO the CW was not interested in “training” locals for any job due to the CW being out a job as soon as there was someone to replace them, thus we have what we have over the years and up until today.
Set up recruitment offices in the other territories such as Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and A. Samoa as their economy is down and a very high unemployment rate.
BUT along with this to recruit workers the wage rate will need to be brought up to Guam’s as IF workers are recruited to the CNMI once they are here they will move on to Guam for the much higher pay.
Asked for 2000+, got 350 and now are trying to milk this CW-1 ‘Dead Cow’! Get over it, and start working on the Plan ‘B’ that should have started in 2009. You all really need to pay more attention to CNN, FOX, etc. Concerning the new Administration’s policies on immigration. You obviously didn’t get it (reread the 1st sentence) if you still are confused.