New bill in the CNMI aims to protect guest workers
Updated
A bill aimed at improving the lives of foreign workers in the Northern Marianas has been presented to the country's House of Representatives. Known as the Resident Foreign National Act of 2008 the bill as been sponsored by four lawmakers, Tina Sablan, Heinze Hofschneider, Edward Salas and Victor Hocog.
Presenter: Barbara Heggen
Speaker: Malou Berouco, A Philippine guest worker in Saipan; Jim Benedetto, US Federal Labour Congressman
Jerry Custudio, President Human Dignity Movement; Tina Sablan, CNMI House of Representatives
Over the last two decades the Northern Marianas has developed a shocking reputation for it's treatment of foreign workers. Coming mainly from China and the Philippines guest workers often pay recruitment officers in their home country large sums of money for the privilege to work in the CNMI.
When they arrive their promised jobs sometimes don't exist or their employer goes bust leaving them with no recourse for reimbursement, forcing many women and young girls into prostitution. There have even been documented cases of Chinese nationals selling their kidneys in order to raise the money to return home.
Numbering around 19,000 the guest workers that do have jobs, pay taxes but cannot vote, they are not represented and are employed on one year contracts which they have to renew annually. Many have been doing this for 30 years. If they lose their job they have 30 days to find another or they're deported. They've only recently been secured the country's minimum wage of $3.55 per hour which is still well below the US mainlands award wage. Tina Sablan says its about time guest workers were granted more security.
SABLAN: Our current labour and immigration laws really don't take into account the presence of people who have been here for years, long term foreign workers contributing to the economy, they've put down roots, they've built their families here. and yet no matter how long they stay they're on year to year contracts and their presence here has never really been stable although everybody agrees that we need them here.
HEGGEN: The new bill means that guest workers who've already been working in the CNMI for five years will be able to remain for five year periods regardless of their job status. They'll be able to change jobs without government approval, they'll be able to operate small businesses, be self employed, and employ other foreign workers. Jerry Custudio is president of the Human dignity Movement , he says the bill will make a big impact on living conditions.
CUSTUDIO: Actually now the living conditions of the guest workers are very tough times and very hard, we're at the survival rate, even if the guest workers have lived here for thirty years, twenty years, be have no basic status, social and political rights, we have still to renew our contracts every year and we have no basic rights to our employer, so there's no security, no security, precisely.
HEGGEN: While the bill has raised the hopes of guestworkers, many people believe it doesn't stand a chance of getting passed. One of those is Charles Reyes, Press Secretary for CNMI Governor Benigno Fitial. He says the bill is too controversial, doesn't have majority support and threatens business.
FITIAL: We want to wait and see if there's consensus and we also want to wait and see the rational justification, you know the merits of the argument, seems to be more a humanitarian proposal and we need to consider the other consequences and implications, the economic, the economic considerations are of course are very important as well.
HEGGEN: Another issue is federalisation. The US senate has passed the CNMI federalisation bill and it's a widespread belief that it's just a matter of time before CNMI local law is superseded by US Federal law. In the light of this some have questioned the benefit of the new guest workers. Bill Benedetto is the US Federal Labour Ombudsman and he says there's still good reason to introduce the bill. He says Federal status of CNMI guestworkers is yet to be established so implementing security now may well be a better option them.
BENEDETTO: It's an open question exactly what effect the federalisation will have on this local bill. those regulations have not yet been drafted and so we don't know exactly what status, how long what numbers, what conditions what benefits, what protection's you know all of those things have yet to be determined.
HEGGEN: Malou Berueco has worked in Saipan for 13 years, one of her 3 children was born in the CNMI and is thus a US citizen. She's extremely hopeful that the new bill gets passed because it will offer stability to the thousands of children born to guest workers.
BERUECO: They are US citizen and they are studying here right now so when their parents go home children must be of course children will be going home with their parents also and then their studies must stop.
