In the face of a looming crisis brought about by the capping of CW-1 permits, Society for Human Resource Management-NMI chapter immediate past president Frank Gibson called for an overhaul of the CNMI-only transitional worker program.<\/p>\n
Speaking before yesterday\u2019s SHRM monthly membership meeting at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan, Gibson said that something has to be done and reiterated that the law, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 or Public Law 110-229, which mandates the annual reduction of CW workers\u00a0to zero in 2019, is not going to work.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe worried about 2019, well we have to worry about it right now,\u201d Gibson said, \u201cThe law, as we all know, is not going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cZero in 2019 means we\u2019re going to lose 13,000 people in our workforce and we don\u2019t have 13,000 people to replace them with,\u201d he added, \u201cSomeone has to see the common sense and do the changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yesterday\u2019s SHRM meeting was attended by human resource personnel, managers, and other business stakeholders in the CNMI\u2014all gravely concerned how the current CW-1 crisis will disrupt their operations and how it will negatively effect the local economy.<\/p>\n
Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Velma Palacios, who attended the meeting, shared the results of their survey to show how many employees might be affected by the CW cap. <\/p>\n
Palacios said that out of their more than 165 members, 30 have responded so far and they have found 117 employees that are up for renewal between May 5 to Sept. 30. A total of 441 employees are up for renewal between Oct. 1 to Dec. 31.<\/p>\n
Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands chair Gloria Cavanagh also shared the results of their survey and said that so far they have found 87 that are up for renewal between May 5 to Sept. 30 and 526 employees up for renewal between Oct. 1 to Dec. 31.<\/p>\n
These surveys are not complete yet according to both organizations. The number is expected to grow as the majority of the CWs got their new status approved only last December.<\/p>\n
During the discussion headed by Gibson, questions and suggestions were thrown out clarifying the 10-day provision as well as the 240-day grace period among others. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhy only 10 days? Because that\u2019s what USCIS said and even if they find a new employer, the employer cannot process the petition because the cap was reached,\u201d Gibson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re going to say we\u2019re following the law, we\u2019re following the regulation, and it doesn\u2019t matter to them if the person has a lease or a new car they have to get rid of, if they have kids in school, if they have been here in 20 years, that doesn\u2019t matter. That\u2019s why the governor and the congressman have to be involved because those things do matter,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
There were also clarifications on how the CW status is being counted and how are the transferees or those who have two employees count.<\/p>\n
Gibson offered a suggestion on how the workers can still retain their lawful presence in the CNMI that doesn\u2019t involve changing the law.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as the petitions are pending, and with the USCIS, the employee has a lawful status. If it\u2019s in lawful status, it has 240 days to work, then that takes us up to Oct. 1,\u201d Gibson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t break any laws, it doesn\u2019t require the law to change, and it doesn\u2019t violate their regulation. It just requires that they be slow. We\u2019ve all experienced that anyway,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u2018What is the government doing?\u2019<\/p>\n
One member of the audience noted that there were no representatives from the Office of Governor, the Legislature, and Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan\u2019s (Ind-MP) office in the meeting. <\/p>\n
Only CNMI Department of Labor Secretary Edith DeLeon Guerrero came to the meeting to clarify some of the news and information that got out regarding CWs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis issue is very important, and I\u2019m surprised that there is no representative from the governor, from the Legislature or from congressman Kilili,\u201d the member said. <\/p>\n
According to Gibson, they were \u201ctold that their chief of staff will be here but they are not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is the governor doing?\u201d another audience asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope that they will be doing something quickly,\u201d Gibson said.<\/p>\n
SHRM president Josephine Mesta sought more comments or concerns from the businesses on the matter so that they can be represented and shared with the government officials. <\/p>\n
SHRM is seeking to have a meeting with Sablan after Memorial Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can all sit there and talk about the legal side and the political side, but really on a day-to-day basis, we are the ones who get affected. We need to have our voices heard,\u201d Mesta said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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