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Locals to get perks •Benefits for foreign workers must also apply to locals: Law
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Posted on Mar 30 1999
Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has approved a legislation that would allow local residents earning less than an hourly wage of $5.15 to receive all benefits extended to foreign workers as mandated by existing laws.
Public Law 11-74 says locals whose wages are still below the prevailing minimum level in the United States are entitled to receive in-kind or the cash equivalent of the full benefits provided to nonresidents such as subsidized food, housing, local transportation, health insurance and medical care.
The legislation, introduced by Rep. Manuel A. Tenorio, gives resident workers the option to choose between the benefits or the cash compensation, whichever is higher.
According to the governor, the measure is envisioned to clarify ambiguities in certain provisions in the Resident Workers Fair Compensation Act and enable the Department of Labor and Immigration to implement and enforce the law since it was put in place in 1995.
Under the new law, any cash compensation benefit shall be added to the resident worker’s base wages currently pegged at the minimum level of $3.15 per hour for non-garment employees.
There are no official estimates of the cash equivalent of the benefits, but an independent study prepared by the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands show that including these benefits would bring an alien worker’s total compensation package even in the entry level position close to the federal minimum wage standard.
HANMI estimates that medical, transportation, housing food and other employee benefits mandated by laws would provide an additional $1.45 to $1.70 to the minimum wage of its industry workers at $3.10 to $4.25 per hour.
There are no reactions yet from businessmen who have been opposing any wage increase in view of the harsh economic conditions in the Northern Marianas that have pulled down their profits.
The implementation of the amended workers fair compensation act is part of the package of measures the island government has put in place to reform its labor and immigration policies.
