Useless JVAs

Article 3, Section 4432 (Procedure and Requirements: 15-Day Advertisement) of the Nonresident Workers Act specifically provides that upon receipt of notification pursuant to the above mandate, the director of Employment Services Division shall first endeavor to fill the job vacancies reported by the employer by referral of resident workers registered with the division. In the event of inability to supply sufficient resident workers by such referral, the director of Employment Services shall cause the existence of the vacancies and other applicable information regarding the jobs to be publicized. This publication shall include notice to all officers of the Department of Commerce (not being done) and Labor, posting in public places in the Commonwealth (not being done), advertising in a newspaper of general circulation in the Commonwealth, the use of the public media when appropriate, and any other means as the director may determine to be feasible. The publication shall continue for a period of 15 days (not one ad per week for three weeks as commonly practiced for years), except that the director may waive all or part of this period if he finds that a waiver is in the public interest and not inconsistent with the policy of this chapter.

In the absence of strict enforcement, however, the above statutory provisions are useless because job vacancy ads posted by any given employer only appears in newspaper ads one day out of each week and, after three postings, they disappear altogether. This is a loophole that many employers utilize to their advantage so as to get around statutory requirements by advertising more often than not job vacancies that are originally meant for renewals, without actually making it appear that they are violating the law. Job vacancy ads are so bold nowadays that they openly announce free or self-arranged housing, transportation, medical coverage, or that applicants must read, write, and be fluent in Japanese, Korean, or Chinese. It’s true that such posting of benefits is a requirement by Labor; however, it’s also not difficult to conclude that the ad’s primary aim is not to be competitive, but rather instigative for the continued retention of nonresident workers. The U.S. Dictionary of Occupational Title that is commonly used by the Employment Services Division to screen and qualify potential applicants for a particular vacancy had often been disregarded, thus ignoring the competitive process of a vacancy.

The Alien Rules and Regulations, Section-2, Paragraph-A1a & b (Preference to Resident Workers) and Section-2, Paragraph-A1c also states that: upon the hiring of a local resident who has met the minimum qualification, a training plan must be designed by the employer and submitted to the Director of Employment Services Division, detailing basic knowledge and skills to be taught to the resident hire essential to satisfy his or her job performance for the job. That such training and reasonable efforts to recruit resident workers shall be a continuing responsibility of the employer for as long as the employer has nonresident workers on its payroll. The 20 percent statutory requirement clearly mandates employers to obtain 20 percent resident hires in non-supervisory, 20 percent in supervisory, and 20 percent in management categories. Not 20 percent in a given company.

I venture to say that if labor and immigration laws continue to lack strict enforcement and control of foreign nationals entering our land, our Commonwealth will soon be in a situation where private jobs will become entirely dominated by foreign nationals possessing and retaining both entry-level positions and upper-level positions. This analysis is really not too farfetched as some might think because the pattern is in fact currently visible.

To this end, I strongly believe that our elected officials need to join together in a collective effort to revisit and seriously scrutinize how JVAs, TWAs, and MOUs are affecting the chances and opportunities of our local residents seeking employment. Although non-availability of local workforce may have been a true and valid justification years ago, such claims cannot continue as there are a vast number of educated local residents who can now begin to replace nonresident workers on a gradual but consistent basis surrounding most jobs. But strict enforcement and control is the key for without it, nothing happens nor materializes for the good and benefit of our beautiful Commonwealth and its people. Posting and after results of JVAs need to be seriously looked into and scrutinized thoroughly before any renewals or extensions are approved for further processing by employers.

Jack Terlaje Quitugua
Garapan, Saipan