By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

FEDERAL and local labor officials are holding a conference today to provide employers hiring foreign workers under the H2B program updates on issues related to changes in local and federal labor laws.
“The purpose of the event is to provide employers currently participating in the H2B visa program with the latest information on program compliance, as well as wage and hour requirements, workers compensation and safety issues,” according to the Guam Department of Labor, which is hosting the 5th annual conference from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Governor’s Cabinet Conference Room in Adelup.
Gov. Felix P. Camacho will keynote the conference, according to the governor’s office. Other featured speakers include Karen Waltz-Davis, Fraud Prevention Unit manager of the U.S. Embassy in Manila; Walter Haith, officer-in-charge of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Guam Office; and Patrick Condoleta of the U.S. Wage and Hour Division Guam Office.
The H-2B worker program is used for lesser-skilled, non-agricultural workers employed in many diverse industries. It is for “temporary service or labor if unemployed persons capable of performing such service or labor cannot be found in this country.”
Since 1990, there has been a congressionally mandated cap of 66,000 on the visas that can be issued annually. Last year was the first that it was reached — or that it was enforced.
The demand for H2B workers is starting to increase in Guam because of the construction boom triggered by the upcoming military buildup. The shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry compels local contractors to tap workers from the Philippines and China.