By Haidee V. Eugenio
Variety Assistant Editor

MANY garment workers on Saipan who were part of the historic $20 million garment settlement agreement have yet to receive a penny from the deal four months after the plaintiffs and claims administrator started distributing checks.
It has also been four years since a federal court judge approved the settlement deal that set aside $5.8 million for distribution to 29,700 garment workers who were members of the class suit alleging violations of wage and hour laws and other rights of garment workers on Saipan.
“We were promised a check this week or next week but it’s been four months and we haven’t received anything,” said Wilson Razo, who is among those waiting for the money.
Others on Saipan received checks in amounts from $72.27 to a little over $700 in exchange for alleged violations of their worker rights.
Garment workers were told to call the U.S.-based Gilardi & Co. at the toll-free number 1-415-4610410 to follow up on their claims, and were given claim IDs. 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.
“We waited a long time for them to start distributing payments and when they finally did, we still have to wait some more,” said Razo, a former maintenance worker at the Hansae garment factory.
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.
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Alex Munson gave the attorneys for the plaintiffs and/or claims administrator until Feb. 2, 2007 to submit a written report to the Garment Oversight Board regarding the remaining funds in the net settlement fund.
Board chairman and former Superior Court Judge Timothy P. Bellas yesterday said the board would know by Feb. 2 whether there are still funds left for distribution to those workers who have not yet received their checks.
Bellas said if there are unclaimed checks that could be given to the board, they want to use the funds to help repatriate additional workers who were displaced by garment factory closures.
The board is also waiting for written reports from plaintiffs and claims administrator to know whether the board’s garment industry monitoring will continue beyond July 2007, which was the original program expiration.