House okays hiring for crucial gov’t jobs

The House of Representatives on Friday passed two measures aimed at addressing what it said as shortage in key personnel in government offices due to insufficient local labor pool with the required skills and training.

Both legislation, authored by Health and Welfare Committee chair Rep. Malua T. Peter, will provide the government badly-needed staff such as teachers, doctors and engineers if signed into law by the governor.

The government is the largest single employer on the islands with nearly 5,000 employees and payroll of at least $180 million each year.

One of the measures approved by the lower house seeks to extend by five more years the sunset provisions of a law prohibiting employment of foreign workers in some departments and agencies.

HB 12-285 will amend Public Law 10-4 which provided for the exemptions for some of the entities to extend the authority to hire nonresident workers to 2005. The ban took effect last Sept. 30.

“The Legislature is. . .cognizant that there is yet an insufficient locally available labor pool to supply the professional and technical needs” for some of these offices, stated the bill.

Among the personnel needed are doctors, dentists, midwives, nurses, allied health providers like X-ray technicians and pharmacy specialists as well as research scientists, auditors and teachers.

The Department of Public Health, Office of the Public Auditor, Department of Public Works, Northern Marianas College, Commonwealth Utilities Corp. and the Department of Commerce are expected to benefit from the proposal.

Training program

To ensure availability of highly-trained local workers by 2005, the House inserted provisions in the bill that will establish a mechanism by which the number of nonresident workers in the government will be gradually diminished over the five-year period.

It will also require the government to map out the goal of phasing out its reliance on these temporary workers through a comprehensive manpower training and education plan.

The proposed program of one-year as well as five-year training will be a joint undertaking by NMC, the Public School System, the Office of Personnel Management and the Scholarship Office, based on Ms. Peter’s proposal.

This will include management intern program for employees to absorb the necessary job-skills training and education in order to fill the positions currently occupied by nonresidents.

In an effort to check compliance by departments and agencies to such requirement, they will have to submit their plans and status report to the Legislature each year.

Failure to do so will mean suspension of the privilege of hiring nonresident workers, according to the bill.

Waiver on bonus repayment

In the other legislation, lawmakers are hoping to lure government retirees back to public service by waiving the stipulation under existing law for them to repay the retirement bonus if they decide to do so.

The House Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations endorsed the proposal, citing the serious shortage of classroom teachers and medical professionals.

“Many so qualified persons have taken early retirement, but have indicated a willingness to return to government service if they do not have to repay their early retirement bonus,” the committee said in its report.

The bonus equivalent to 30 percent of a year’s salary is paid in lumpsum to employees after 20 years of service. But the benefit was scrapped early this year due to financial difficulties confronting the government, affecting those recently hired.

“While we note that the original purpose of early retirement was to encourage people to retire, and open up positions for recent graduates, in these necessary professions, there simply are not sufficient applicants to meet the need,” added the report. 

Both HB 12-285 and HB 12-231 are now up for voting in the Senate.