‘Job safety program must be in place’

All businesses in the CNMI should have a job safety program in place to avoid accidents that may cause injury or death in a workplace.

That’s according to Commonwealth Casino Commission vice chair Joseph C. Reyes, who gave the statement after a Chinese worker died last week at the Imperial Pacific Resort’s construction site.

Reyes said that government agencies or departments that have the authority must be given the chance to do their jobs.

“Even the [Commonwealth Casino Commission] has no authority. Conducting an oversight is the job and responsibility of the [CNMI] Department of Labor and the [Occupational Safety and Health Administration],” said Reyes.

The most important thing to know right now, he said, is if companies and businesses in the CNMI have their own safety program in their offices, stations or work sites.

“Perhaps, if there’s no regulation in place right now, there should be something that must be promulgated. And this ties in with the workers compensation insurance program, which, in part, requires that everybody must have a job safety program,” said Reyes.

“The question is, how many companies, most especially construction companies, have a job safety program in place? If they [companies] do have it in place, that pretty much outlines job safety in any way for the local workforce.”

CNMI OSHA, which is under the local labor department, is a consultation division that provides technical assistance and do onsite consultations to employers. It is a cooperative program for businesses by the United States labor department.

The division offers free and confidential on-site safety advice, and perform health advice to small and medium-sized businesses to improve workplace safety and employees’ health.

Reyes said their job is different from the federal OSHA, which is under the Region 9 office in San Francisco and where the CNMI among the states and territories under its jurisdiction. American Samoa and Guam, and the states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada are the other territories and states under Region 9.

“OSHA, the federal arm of the U.S. government, conducts investigations and imposes the fines. They are responsible for issues like this, most especially if there are fatalities,” said Reyes.

House Speaker Rafael S. Demapan (R-Saipan) said the Legislature is in constant communication with heads of key agencies in order to ensure the safety and health conditions of all workers.

“We need to make sure that proper measures are in place to prevent future incidents at the Imperial Pacific Resort project site and other developer construction sites for that matters as well,” said Demapan.

“It is also important that we extend our due respect and assistance to IPI and other developers as well in a professional and diligent manner to ensure cooperation and effective communication so that we all succeed in our goals in an ethical and responsible manner.”

He is now waiting for the report from the agencies that have communicated with IPI along with the investigation done by IPI and the contractor where the Chinese national was employed.

Photos posted on social media sites also showed a huge pile of debris at the construction site of the casino resort of Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC, resulting in a trash fire on March 13.