THE Mongolian H-2B construction workers of Imperial Pacific International left Saipan on Saturday afternoon.
Imperial Pacific International had yet to respond to Variety’s request for comment, but as of Friday afternoon, one of the workers, Orchibat Chimoddorj, said none of them had received what they believe is owed to them by IPI.
He said IPI owes many of them paid time off or three-fourths of their salaries. The other Mongolian employees, he added, have not been paid their fourth month salaries.
Variety was told that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is calculating how much IPI owes each worker, and that the next step will be a collection plan.
USDOL-Wage and Hour Division was also able to get the contact and banking information of each of the Mongolian workers so once monies are collected, they can be distributed to the workers.
Orchibat said each of them is owed $4,000 to $5,000.
There were over 100 of them who worked at the IPI construction site in Garapan.
At their employee housing in China Town on Friday morning, Orchibat and his compatriots discussed their options. Although they all wanted to receive their unpaid salaries before they leave the island, most of them were longing to go home.
They were hesitant to remain on island because there was no guarantee they would have a place to stay if IPI shut down their barracks.
“And how about our food?” one of them asked. IPI was also providing them with food.
IPI said it was working on a final pay and repatriation plan, adding that it had met its obligations to the Mongolians, and that their three-fourths pay guarantee requirement had been satisfied.
IPI, which is facing several lawsuits in local and federal courts and complaints before the casino commission, was ordered by a federal judge to stop all construction activities at its hotel-casino in Garapan. Since the onset of the Covid-19 global pandemic in March last year, IPI’s casino has also shut down.
Orchibat Chimoddorj, right, and his other Mongolian workers of Imperial Pacific International gather outside their barracks on Friday afternoon, a day before they left Saipan.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
