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Small crowd at wage hike public hearing
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Posted on Nov 01 2006
A public hearing for two minimum wage hike bills on Tuesday night was mostly a quiet affair, with barely 20 people showing up to voice their support or opposition.
Few of the invited government agencies and business groups sent representatives to the public hearing, held at 5:30pm Tuesday in the House of Representatives chamber. There was also a low turnout of members of the public. Most participants spoke on House Bill 15-166, which proposes to raise the minimum wage in the CNMI.
Saipan Chamber of Commerce vice president Alex Sablan, one of those present, offered comments on the minimum wage bill. He underscored the business organization’s position that any wage increase should be done by a government sanctioned wage review board and on a staggered basis.
Sablan also maintained that the CNMI’s low minimum wage is not the reason many local workers do not have jobs. To address the unemployment problem, the CNMI only needs to enforce labor laws such as the 20-percent resident workforce requirement, he said.
“We ask the committee to set aside this bill and focus on the issue of enforcement,” he said.
Richard W. Pierce, attorney for the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association, reiterated SGMA’s proposal that the Commonwealth adopt a tiered wage system that is similar to the system American Samoa has in place. Pierce also urged the House, before considering any wage-related measure, to conduct an economic study—“as opposed to shooting from the hip because the U.S. government wants it.”
For his part, Edward Diaz, a government retiree, expressed full support for the minimum wage hike. He said it was 10 years overdue. “Residents will be happy. They will see an increase in their paycheck. This is good news,” he said.
He added that higher wages should motivate more resident workers to secure private sector jobs.
The House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Rep. Crispin Ogo, is also soliciting comments on House Bill 15-45, which seeks to convert municipal government employees to a civil service-type wage structure.
Written comments may be submitted until Nov. 20, 2007, Monday.
