Its general manager Bak Won Gun said their equipment and other materials are now being crated for shipment.
According to Bak Won Gun, some of their workers have already left Saipan while 27 are still here to prepare for the inventory and the shipment of the remaining garment orders.
Last Jan 8, the Department of Labor revoked all work permits of Uno Moda workers who were given until Jan. 31 to work for the factory.
Labor, at the same time, granted the remaining 101 workers transfer relief.
Labor Director Barry A. Hirshbein opened a “compliance agency case” to ensure the orderly transfer of all affected Uno Moda nonresident workers who hold valid work permits when the factory shuts down.
Hearing officer Jerry Cody said workers who want to transfer must register with the Division of Employment Services and Training no later than Feb. 7.
Each worker, he added, will have 30 days from the date of registration to find a transfer employer and submit a signed employment intent form to Labor.
If any worker fails to file an employer intent form within the 30-day transfer period, he or she is required to report to Labor Enforcement Section’s Jeff Camacho within five days in order to arrange for his or her repatriation.
“In such event, any refusal or failure by the worker to depart from the commonwealth shall result in the worker’s name being forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General for deportation,” Cody said.
Garment manufacturing used to be one of the island’s two major industries. But with the liberalization of international trade rules in 2005, most of the Saipan factories have moved to Third World countries which can now also export apparel to the U.S. without quota restrictions.
