…but Torres assures protection of economy

The CNMI government is willing to put in place more stringent labor policies just to protect the CNMI’s existing economy.

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres gave this assurance when he testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources last month.

The testimony is regarding House Resolution 339 that was re-introduced by Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) in the 115th U.S. Congress. HR 339 or the Northern Mariana Islands Economic Expansion Act aims to increase the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker or CW-1 visa program’s numerical limit from 12,998 to 15,000 in the current fiscal year, 2017.

Torres said that having limited access to eligible workers has been the CNMI’s problem since the Commonwealth’s economy started to pick up in the last three years. “The potential loss of investment has been a serious consideration that highlights the difficulty of growing an economy while having limited access to labor.”

“Despite this dilemma, it is important to note that the CNMI takes seriously its responsibilities under the transition program and is willing to place hard lines in order to protect the existing economy.”

He added that he took a risk in allowing a large number of construction workers acquire the limited number of CW-1 permits, which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and the local private sector know of.

Torres, however, changed his request in February 2016. “During a meeting with former USCIS director Leon Rodriguez, I requested that USCIS no longer issue CW-1 permits for construction occupations. I reiterated this concerns with the Department of Homeland Security during our Section 902 consultations.”

“We made several announcements in the local media for our private sector partners to be responsible in their use of the CW-1 program and to pursue alternative visa classifications where available.”
 
‘Unknown’ workers

He said USCIS data showed that there are approximately 1,500 workers under the Standard Occupational Classification Group 47-000 for fiscal year 2015. SOCG 47-000 is for construction and extraction occupations like carpenters, masons, carpet installers, tile and marble setters, and electricians.

Torres added USCIS data over the years showed significant improvement but “the total number of construction workers who were present prior to Oct. 1, 2015, is difficult to ascertain. For [fiscal year] 2014, 8,221 permits were classified as ‘unknown’ occupations by USCIS.”

“In fact, more than 92 percent of all CW-1 permits issued for [FY 2014] were classified as ‘unknown.’ As FY 2015 data showcases an improvement in the number of CW-1 permits classified as ‘unknown,’ it may be possible that the ‘unknown’ figure in FY 2015 of 1,118 may contain employees who would ordinarily fall into [SOCG] 47-000.”

Torres said that ending access to SOCG 47-000 would have a negative impact on the CNMI. “There exists a real possibility that ending access to employees classified under [SOCG] 47-000 in the CW-1 program will negatively affect ongoing developments in the CNMI.”

“Yet in the absence of greater controls and safeguards that will ensure the protection and wise use of the limited CW-1 visas, this policy is necessary.”

He said the difficult choices presented to the CNMI right now are to continue the operations of existing enterprises against the need to grow the economy. “This choice is particularly difficult because, as the most recent [U.S. Government Accountability Office] report shows, with a growing economy more and more U.S. workers are finding employment in a wider selection of jobs.”

“It is important to state that in the CNMI, much like any open market-based economy in the world, workers seek for jobs that fit their skills and interests. Despite having a number of unemployed individuals in the CNMI, their entrance into the labor force is highly dependent on their skills to perform the vacant positions or fill a position occupied by a foreign worker and their interest in taking the position.”

However, Torres, said, they don’t have the ability to force an individual to work. “The best chance we have to reach full employment of every able-bodied man and woman is to grow the economy so that a diverse selection of jobs and competitive wages finds the willing employee to fill that position. This is occurring now, but can only occur when there are new businesses and economic growth.”