“During 2009, CEDA closed their CNMI office and recalled their official back to China.
Hence, the department was not consulted by CEDA on labor matters affecting Chinese workers in the commonwealth,” Labor Secretary Gil San Nicolas reported to the Legislature.
CEDA is an agency under China’s Ministry of Commerce.
During the Saipan garment industry’s peak, the CNMI hosted over 17,000 Chinese workers.
In 2005, CEDA extended its responsibilities to include screening Chinese workers bound for the CNMI.
According to the 26-page CNMI Department of Labor’s annual report, of the 15,067 labor permits issued last year, 1,846 were for Chinese nationals, the second largest ethnic group after Filipinos, who totaled 11,407.
The department said it also issued permits to 177 Bangladeshis in 2009; 618 to Koreans; 114 to Thais; 479 to Japanese; and 426 to nationals of other countries.
San Nicolas said his department met with new Philippine Consul General Medardo C. Macaraig and his staff last year and briefed them about the latest labor-related matters.
“The consul general’s staff were consulted with respect to the new umbrella permit program and was also consulted during the process of drafting the revised regulations,” San Nicolas said.
Thailand’s government sent a delegation last year to the Northern Marianas to discuss labor issues concerning their citizens who are still on the islands, he added.
