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IPI workers wait for final paycheck
Most of the laid-off employees of Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC are scheduled to leave Saipan today but they have yet to received their final paycheck, which was supposed to be given two days before their flight.
Representatives of the employees told Saipan Tribune that they have already received their plane tickets but IPI’s human resources has yet to coordinate their last paychecks with them.
The company’s human resources department was given the task to issue the one-day flight notice and to answer and handle all questions and other inquiries of the employees.
“But there’s no coordination yet with HR. Those who are schedule to leave [Thursday] have yet to get their final paycheck. There’s one of us who resigned, left Saipan last week, and he did not receive his last paycheck,” said one of the workers.
“Are they going to send it to us when we’re already back in the Philippines? We asked IPI to also release our paychecks when we’re get our flight itinerary. They first gave us our return tickets for our Nov. 29 flight but no paycheck.”
They said that IPI chair Mark Brown, who returned to lead the company last month, wanted to know how many would be leaving the island and how many would want to stay to look for another job.
“He [Brown] wanted to know the exact number of employees who would want to leave Saipan since it would be a waste of money if IPI would book 200 return tickets but only half would avail of it,” the employee added.
“The names of those who would want to stay should submit their names to human resources so IPI would no longer spend for a plane ticket that will not be used. We asked if the plane ticket could be converted to cash, but Mr. Brown said it would be subject for approval by management.”
IPI, which was permitted by the CNMI Department of Labor to lay off its workers after informing them, would shoulder the airfare of the employees the same way when they were hired by the company in the Philippines. The employees would also be flown back at company expense.
The employees are also allowed to have two luggage for their return flight, the same way when they were brought to Saipan.
