Chamber presses for lifting of 3-year limit

Businesses yesterday emphasized to Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio the urgency of creating an investment-friendly climate in the CNMI by repealing laws which hamper the growth of business in the Northern Marianas.

Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Lynn Knight said representatives from different businesses pressed for the lifting of the three-year stay limit imposed on nonresident workers during a dialogue with the governor.

The three-year limit was signed into law in 1999 and the effect of the law will be felt in March 2001 by the private sector. “We do not want to wait until that time to remind everybody what that bill will bring to the business community,” Ms. Knight said.

Legislators said the three-year limit is CNMI’s response to the federal government’s growing concern on the increasing number of foreign workers and prevent them from living on the island as disenfranchised residents whose children become U.S. citizens.

In seeking the repeal of restrictive laws, the Chamber threw its support on the Omnibus Labor and Business Reform Act which will scrap the $100,000 security deposit for foreign investors, the hiring moratorium law, the three-year limit, Fair Compensation Act and the garment cap.

“We are asking for the easing of restrictions on the hiring of labor and at the same time we need to always be mindful of what our responsibilities are in terms of hiring and training of the local people,” she said.

Ms. Knight said different businesses explained to the governor their experiences in their attempt to hire local people.

Richard Pierce, acting chair of the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association, said there is a need to properly work out with the Senate on how to make the proposed House Bill 12-039 acceptable to the governor when it is finally brought to him for signature.

“We all want this properly done and worded so that the governor can accept this as something which both the House and the Senate can provide,” he said.

While SGMA does not really have a position on the three-year limit since garment manufacturers do not expect to have much of the industry’s presence in the year 2004, it is still supporting the repeal of the law because of the adverse impact on the business community.

According to Mr. Pierce, the garment association wants flexibility in allowing workers to be utilized by different factories to maximize the labor force. “The Commonwealth is the one suffering here z– approximately five percent of unrealized potential user’s fee collection –– if the Legislature fails to do something about it,” he added. (LFR)