By Haidee V. Eugenio
Variety Assistant Editor

OVER $2.3 million of the $5.7 million in garment industry settlement agreement checks that were issued to 29,771 garment workers since Sept. 28, 2006 are unaccounted for — they were neither cashed nor reissued.
Workers have expressed disappointment over the small amount of money they received for the violation of their labor rights.
As of yesterday, according to former Judge Timothy P. Bellas, chairman of the Garment Oversight Board, it was uncertain whether the $2,397,262.67 in unaccounted-for funds will be redistributed to class members, funneled to the Garment Oversight Board for the monitoring of garment factories and worker living and working conditions, or used for the repatriation of garment workers who lost their jobs in less than two years since their arrival on Saipan.
“I only received $201.55 from the settlement agreement. Others received three separate checks with bigger amounts and I wonder about the basis for their computation. I think it’s unfair because I paid a 26,000 peso placement fee, but I was not reimbursed for it even though that was part of the settlement,” said Tess Dioneda, 46, who worked for Sako Corp.
Wilson Razo, also a former garment employee, said he only received some $600 in settlement money.
“I’m disappointed because I expected from $1,000 to $2, 000,” he said.
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Alex Munson gave the attorneys for the plaintiffs and/or claims administrator until Feb. 2 to submit a written report to the board regarding the remaining funds in the net settlement fund.
A report from the law office of Civille & Tang stated that as of Jan. 30, 2007, there were 29,771 checks amounting to $5,706,719.35 that had been issued.
Of this amount, $3,046,110.32 was cashed, involving 13,052 checks.
The one-page “Saipan Garment Workers Settlement Post-Distribution Check Report” stated that as of Jan. 30, there were 15,891 checks amounting to $2,397,262.67 that were “unaccounted for.” These were checks that were not cashed and not reissued.
This included 6,780 checks amounting to $1,142,595 that were outstanding and “returned as undeliverable mail.”
Bellas said they will wait for Munson’s approval on what to do with the money that was unaccounted for.
“Right now we are only discussing the options if the money is given back to the board — whether to use it to help additional workers who need to be repatriated or to continue the garment industry monitoring,” he said.
In 2003, Munson approved the $20 million garment settlement agreement that set aside over $5.7 million for distribution to 29,771 garment workers who were members of the class suit alleging violations of wage and hour laws and other rights of garment workers on Saipan.
Others on Saipan received checks in amounts from $72.27 to a little over $700 in reparations for violations of their rights.
Garment workers were told to call the U.S.-based Gilardi & Co. at 1-415-4610410 to follow up on their claims. Gilardi & Co. was hired by lawyers in the class suit to distribute the checks to workers on Saipan, China, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Thailand and other countries from which these workers come.
The garment settlement agreement resulted from a lawsuit filed against Saipan garment manufacturers and U.S. retailers for violations of U.S. labor laws and international human rights standards.