THE Mongolian construction workers of Imperial Pacific International staged a protest Tuesday over unpaid salaries and other benefits.
The workers gathered outside IPI’s human resources office in Sadog Tasi at 8 a.m., and proceeded to the CNMI Department of Labor office on Capital Hill at noon.
One of the protesters, Ochirbat Chimoddorj, said IPI has not paid them for three months, but is now preparing to repatriate them.
He said they are being provided food at their barracks, but IPI has not given them refunds from their unused health insurance.
In a statement, IPI said it is working on a final pay and repatriation plan.
“IPI has met the obligations of the Mongolians’ H-2B permits (labor certificate for construction workers). The three-fourths pay guarantee requirement has been satisfied,” IPI added.
The workers’ “unpaid wages are minimal and will be addressed…. We expect the Mongolian workers to be repatriated in the first week of May.”
Ochirbat Chimoddorj said they have been frequenting IPI’s HR office almost every day over the last couple of months, but they were always told that there was no money to pay them.
Variety was told by other sources that the Mongolian workers are planning to sue IPI, which is already facing several other lawsuits in federal and local courts.
The casino investor began hiring construction workers from Mongolia in 2019, along with workers from Turkey, Thailand and Taiwan.
Mongolian construction workers hold placards as they stage a protest outside the Imperial Pacific International’s human resources office in Sadog Tasi on Tuesday
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
