Previous Story
‘Rota wants gradual wage increase, too’
|
Posted on Aug 06 2005
Rota residents undoubtedly support an increase in the minimum wage, but like most people on Saipan and Tinian, they also favor a gradual wage hike.
“They also favor the wage increase. Ironically, employers agree but they want it done gradually,” said House Committee on Ways and Means chairman Rep. Norman S. Palacios in an interview.
The panel recently conducted a public hearing on Rota on House Bill 14-30, which aims to raise the minimum wage in the CNMI from the current $3.05 per hour to $5.
The committee earlier held similar consultations on Tinian and Saipan.
In both instances, the prevailing sentiment was to raise the minimum wage in increments.
But Palacios said yesterday that “it’s too early to tell” whether his committee would recommend a gradual wage process.
He said, though, that most people favor the re-write of the bill to reflect the community’s input.
He said that his panel is in the process of consolidating all comments from various sectors, including previous legislative proposals on the issue.
He said he will also look into the earlier wage hike proposal submitted by the Babauta administration to the Legislature.
“We will study it thoroughly and incorporate necessary points,” said Palacios.
Earlier, Gov. Juan N. Babauta said the bill, which is authored by Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider, is “economically reckless” due to sudden leap in rates, creates a huge liability for the taxpayers, and discriminatory to a certain group of workers.
The bill excludes garment sewer and cutters from the wage increase purportedly due to the anticipated shutdown of the industry.
The governor called on the panel to scrap the bill and consider his previous proposal instead.
The Saipan Mayor’s Office, meantime, said the bill does not adequately address the discrepancy in benefits between the alien workers and the local residents.
