Sablan says four-day workweek not a solution

Surprised to learn about the four-day workweek being proposed for the Legislature, Rep. Tina Sablan said she is totally against it because it won’t work at all.

Sablan was one of the guests at yesterday’s session of the Rotary Club at the Hyatt Regency Saipan.

“Obviously the entire government should be looking at ways to cut costs, and the governor has for months now been calling for the revival of austerity Fridays, or the four-day workweek that has been put on the table,” Sablan said.

She said members of the House have objected to it.

“We tried it before it was never fairly implemented and there were always exceptions. What we have to resort to instead is to make cuts,” Sablan said.

She is amenable to a reduction in manpower. “Let people go if we have to, and I think we should do it at this point.”

Sablan said that across-the-board salary cuts didn’t work in the past either.

She said she is not sure how far the plan will go in the Legislature.

As for a reduction in the budget instead, she said there are other ways to cut but they must do it in a way that is fair.

OGA initiative

Sablan said they have collected enough signatures for the Open Government Act initiative to be put on the ballot but it will have to go through another review and certification assessment by the Attorney General’s Office in June.

She said the intent is to apply the OGA to the Legislature and require public notice for all sessions and committee meetings so that community members can participate if they like to. The initiative also aims to provide access to public records in the Legislature.

“The public has access to the records of the Legislative Bureau but this is just to expand that access to the community,” she said.

Sablan said there has been a small but noticeable shift in the Legislature and that has been toward more openness.

“[Lawmakers are] soliciting more comments and having more public forums, so this is one more positive thing that is happening in the government,” she said.

She said there is more room for improvement and that applying the OGA to the Legislature is just one of them.

Volunteerism

Meanwhile, Sablan told Rotarians about an e-mail from incoming first lady Michelle Obama about her campaign of volunteerism.

Sablan said it is a great and positive way to start the year—“thinking about all the opportunities for volunteerism in the community that we have now, we have all kinds of community events and projects that we could be involved in, this could lead to great things.”

She said that, as difficult as times have been on the island these past years, there’s still a lot to be thankful for.