NMI gets $6M to help displaced workers

The U.S. Department of Labor has approved the CNMI government’s application for a $6-million grant that will be used to help workers who were displaced or made jobless by Typhoon Soudelor.

The fund was awarded under the National Dislocated Worker Grant.

“We are extremely pleased with the quick turnaround from the U.S. Department of Labor and our other federal partners. This level of support and the rapid response is most appreciated. I want to thank U.S. DOL Secretary Thomas E. Perez and his staff for this award,” said Gov. Eloy S. Inos.

The fund will be used to create up to 300 temporary jobs for eligible individuals.

Inos also lauded CNMI Labor Secretary Edith DeLeon Guerrero’s efforts in submitting the grant proposal.

“Secretary Edith DeLeon Guerrero put in a great deal of work and effort in submitting the grant proposal on behalf of the administration to give eligible individuals the opportunity to assist with our ongoing cleanup efforts, and to get those who have been unemployed or displaced from their jobs back to working and earning a paycheck,” Inos said.

Initial funding

According to DeLeon Guerrero, the initial funding is $500,000.

“It doesn’t mean the approval means $6 million in the bank. No, that’s not how it works,” DeLeon Guerrero told Saipan Tribune.

“It’s going to be premised on how the program is operated through and how the money is spent and eventually those will trigger the additional funding if it is legitimate enough to support that additional funding after half a million,” she added.

The administration said details of the requirements and conditions of the award will be provided soon so that eligible individuals can apply for these temporary positions.

“Right now we’re looking at all the necessary recruitment that we need to do for the operations of the program. We need to recruit people; we’re working closely with our local government agency, which is the Office of Personnel Management. We want to make sure we follow all the necessary criteria in terms of job announcement and things like that or what other things we need to do in order for us to accelerate the hiring process for the administrator to run the program,” DeLeon Guerrero said.

The program will be available not only on Saipan but on Tinian and Rota as well.

“We’re actively recruiting for those individuals that were affected by the storm, which are the dislocated workers, displaced homemakers, long-term unemployed,” she said.

However, residents can also start applying under another program, WIA’s dislocated worker program, and DeLeon Guerrero said she urges people to come in and apply for the services.

“They can come in and start applying because we have funding for that,” DeLeon Guerrero said.

Jobs of up to 12 months

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) congratulated the Commonwealth government and WIA on successfully applying for federal funding to hire workers.

According to Sablan, jobs created with the displaced workers funds can be for up to 12 months and can also be extended for another 12 months.

Sablan noted that the fund will benefit the CNMI on different levels such as helping with the cleanup and gives people who have lost their jobs and incomes a chance to earn money.

“The third important effect of this money is that it goes straight into our economy. The people who get these temporary jobs are going to spend what they earn right away to support themselves and to repair their cars or homes or replace what they lost in the storm. All that spending will help revive businesses large and small and help the economy get back on its feet,” Sablan said.

In addition to hiring workers, the Commonwealth may also use the funds to retrain workers or provide other services that will get them back to fulltime employment, he added.