THE 30 remaining employees of Imperial Pacific International did not receive their salaries on Friday.
They are now owed three payrolls: for March 21 to April 3; April 4 to April 17; and April 18 to April 29.
An IPI source said the casino investor had not heard from the U.S. Department of Labor about the $250,000 security deposit that IPI wanted to use to pay its employees.
Commonwealth Casino Commission Chairman Edward C. Deleon Guerrero in a meeting on April 29, 2022 reminded IPI that its failure to meet payroll was a violation of the license agreement and the casino law.
The commission’s executive director, Andrew Yeom, has filed five enforcement actions against IPI and is seeking the revocation of its exclusive casino license.
The commission earlier scheduled a hearing for May 3, but it has been rescheduled for May 24.
Yeom has also informed the commissioners that he has asked the Department of Public Works secretary to “exercise his authority” and resume the removal of the tower cranes from IPI’s construction site, “at IPI’s cost and expense.”
The IPI’s construction team has not been reporting for work due to their unpaid salaries.
But the security team is still securing IPI’s assets and property, IPI Human Resources Director Redie Dela Cruz told the commission.
She said she has told the security supervisor that they are not obligated to come to work as scheduled, but if they do report for work, their hours will get logged in and IPI will pay them.
She also told the commission that if IPI’s remaining employees can no longer afford to come to work because of the recent fuel price increases, “we’re not holding it against them.”
