Employers urged to prepare

With just 100 days to go before the implementation of the “touchback” rule that would require hundreds of foreign workers to exit the CNMI, many Commonwealth businesses and affected workers are now girding themselves for what is expected to be a temporary labor vacuum that could impact daily operations.

Many local stores have noticed an increase in purchases of canned goods like processed meat, corned beef, canned tuna, chocolates, and even soaps and shampoos that many departing workers plan to bring with them when they exit.

Meanwhile, freight company LBC Express has also ran out of boxes and remain unsure of when they will get more. Filipino workers, who make up most of the CNMI’s foreign workers, typically fill up these boxes with daily essentials when they leave for the Philippines, hence the temporary shortage for these boxes at LBC.

Because the CNMI’s hands are tied when it comes to the expected implementation of the touchback rule this September, the CNMI Department of Labor continues to urge local businesses to reach out to DOL to see how they can help fill labor gaps.

Labor Secretary Leila Staffler concedes that the departure of many CNMI-Only Transitional Visa Workers is worrisome, but she wants the business community to know that all hope is not lost.

She said the CNMI has some great training programs in place and she encourages employers to look into DOL’s programs in the meantime as the department is willing and ready to help in the transition from contract workers to local workers .

“Employers who have not taken advantage of the DOL programs should definitely look at what we can offer at WIOA, apprenticeship and employment services to help you transition when your CW worker must leave as per U.S. Public Law 115-218 or the Northern Mariana Islands Workforce Act of 2018,” she said.

Currently, Staffler said, there is no clear picture of home many workers will be leaving, but she hopes to gain some insight in the next couple of weeks as employers fill out DOL’s ongoing foreign labor survey.

“To be honest, I do not expect to have a clear picture. If businesses and agencies do not share their data, then I have no picture. [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] does not share this information. Yet. I’m working on building a relationship with them. The U.S. Department of Labor doesn’t know the information because it is USCIS that processes the applications. USDOL just approves and monitors the CW funding plans. The survey was my attempt at getting the information,” she said.

“Unfortunately, it probably should have been done sooner. But note, this is not even part of my jurisdiction or job. Technically, the CNMI Department of Labor is tasked with monitoring and enforcing the U.S. worker preference part of the law,” she added.

As of press time, around 20 employers have participated in the survey but DOL hopes to see more in the next couple of weeks.