Permits of 155 garment workers revoked Jan. 31

The Department of Labor has ordered the revocation of the work permits of 155 alien workers at Uno Moda Corp. effective Jan. 31, 2009, the date of the garment factory’s shutdown.

Labor hearing officer Jerry Cody granted all the 155 aliens, all Chinese, a chance to transfer to new employers.

As this developed, Labor Director Barry A. Hirsbein opened a “compliance agency case” to ensure the orderly transfer of all affected Uno Moda alien workers who hold valid work permits at the time the company ceases operations.

In his order, Cody said the workers who want to transfer to other employers should register with the Labor Division of Employment Services no later than Feb. 7, 2009.

Each worker, he said, shall have 30 days from the date of registration to find a transfer employer and submit a signed employment intent form to Labor’s Employment Services.

If any worker fails to file an employer intent form within the 30-day transfer period, that worker shall be required to report to Labor Enforcement Section’s Jeff Camacho within five days in order to arrange for his or her repatriation.

“In such event, any refusal or failure by the worker to depart from the Commonwealth shall result in the worker’s name being forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General for deportation,” Cody said.

If an employee requests repatriation or the repatriation is arranged following the worker’s failure to submit an employer intent form within the 30-day period, Uno Moda shall be notified and must provide a repatriation ticket within 15 days.

The employee, Cody said, must depart the CNMI within 15 days after the repatriation ticket is delivered to Labor or the matter will be referred to the CNMI Division of Immigration.

Uno Moda last month informed Labor that it has 228 alien workers and 55 resident workers or for a total of 283 employees.

Uno Moda Corp. general manager Won Gun Bak recently notified Labor Secretary Gil M. San Nicolas that their factory is closing down on Jan. 31, but that they had already informed their workers last Nov. 29 about the management’s decision.

Bak said airline tickets for the workers’ repatriation will be provided while those workers who want to transfer to other employers will be aided in the processing of documents.

“It is very difficult to continue our operations since our buyers moved to another place and our orders ceased and it affected our productions,” said Bak in his letter to San Nicolas.

Two other remaining garment factories—US CNMI Development Corp. and Marianas Garment Manufacturing—had already notified Labor about their intention to close their factories, too. Both are officially shutting down on Feb. 7, 2009.

US CNMI Development Corp. general manager William Fong and MGM deputy general manager Zeng Gengzin said the factories ceased active garment manufacturing last Dec. 8, but they are officially closing on Feb. 7.

In their separate but similar letters to Labor, Fong and Gengzin said the corporations will continue to exist and that it is anticipated that they will keep their import and export licenses active.

All their workers, they said, were already given written notice about the closure.

The CNMI used to have 34 garment factories, all located on Saipan, contributing some $60 million in direct taxes a year to the local government.

Many of those factories started ceasing operations in January 2005 when the World Trade Organization lifted trade quotas.