MY heart bleeds red for all “unemployed” contract workers (a contradiction of terms if ever there was one) and for the many who will soon be out of work too because of business closures such as is now happening with garment factories and supporting businesses.
Out of work contract workers are going to find it increasingly more difficult to find work simply because there are none. And if CNMI businesses are forced to pay higher wages, this will mean even fewer job opportunities because higher wages will be the proverbial nail that seals the coffin of many businesses, especially small businesses whose existence hinged on the very existence of large businesses such as the garment factories which are already closing down as it is.
But while my heart bleeds red for nonresident workers, it bleeds even redder for resident workers in the private sector who have always found the going difficult even employed since wages in the private sector have not kept up with the increasing cost of living and inflation — the skyrocketing CUC rates being only one readily available example of such increases in the cost of living.
Out of work resident workers, like their nonresident worker counterparts, will also find it difficult to find work in the coming months simply because there is none and will have to look to the Department of Labor to invoke the local preference law to assist them in finding work in the private sector.
What this means essentially is that as more and more businesses close down leaving more and more workers (both resident and nonresident workers) out of work, our own Department of Labor will finally have to take a very serious look at our own labor laws to help resident workers to see light at the end of their employment tunnel, i.e. jobs and employment and opportunities in the private sector.
Considering the high rate of business closures of late, compounded by the spike in minimum wage that is gaining steam and headed our way, and the apparent lack of economic activities to replace the outgoing garment factories and ailing tourism arrivals, finding jobs and employment and opportunities in the private sector is going to be a tall order indeed.
Nevertheless as one former Labor official once remarked, “If our Labor office were to give our own labor force half the time that they spend to make our labor laws more palatable for nonresident workers, we would not need half the nonresident workers we have.”
Indeed, it is now up to our Labor office, other concerned governmental and private entities, to make sure that the light at the end of resident workers’ employment tunnel is light indeed, and not another train loaded down with nonresident workers.

JOE ASANUMA
Tanapag, Saipan