Some non-exempt CUC workers continue work

At least two non-exempt trade technicians continue to report for work at the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s power generation plant in Lower Base since Oct. 1.

CUC executive director Lorraine A. Babauta said yesterday that “two or three” nonresident workers who are not covered by the exemption law that was passed on Sept. 30, 2005 remain “on call.”

“We have a number of people on call. …They are not supposed to be working but…,” said Babauta.

She disclosed that her office is lobbying the Legislature again to amend the law to include “professional services” as among the exempt positions.

The newly signed law, Public Law 14-91, exempts engineers and manpower-hired power plant mechanics from a previous law that requires government agencies to stop hiring nonresident workers beyond Sept. 30, 2005.

The new law allows them and other nonresident workers in other affected government agencies to keep their job for another two years or until Sept. 30, 2007.

“We’ll see if we can work with the Legislature to amend the law to include the professional services such as our programmer and chief accountant positions and also those classified as trade technicians. Hopefully, we can work it out,” Babauta told reporters yesterday.

Otherwise, she said that non-exempt personnel would have to stop working after this week.

“If we don’t hear anything from the Legislature by this week, we’d basically tell them that they have to cease, stop [working],” said Babauta.

She noted that the affected nonresident workers have 45 days or until early November to seek other work in the CNMI.

“They have 45 days to seek employment. We’re giving them that option,” said Babauta.

CUC employed 11 nonresident workers in fiscal year 2005. These included one accounting officer, one information technology analyst, three engineers, three trades technicians, including one for CUC’s Geological Survey Well Drilling section, and two for power generation, as power plant mechanics.

Others are manpower-hired who are working at the CUC Power Generation.

“Saipan operations would be hurt significantly. …Without manpower workers and the nonresident trades technicians at Power Generation, we would have serious problems. Not only do they have skills sets that CUC needs, they provide the on-the-job training needed by less experienced employees,” Babauta said earlier.

CUC Tinian has currently no nonresident workers while Rota has two who provide on-the-job training for the resident workers.