He said they need to hire five mechanics and three electricians.
The papers are now being processed at the Department of Labor, he said, adding that the executive order of Gov. Benigno R. Fitial required the nonresident hires to go through the CNMI Labor system.
“This will allow Labor to continue tracking nonresident workers,” Cepeda said.
Fitial’s recent executive order, which once again extended the state of emergency declaration for CUC, allowed for the hiring of the non-U.S. technical workers.
The governor said an adequate technical staff is essential to the power plant’s operations.
Four of the nonresident workers will start reporting at CUC as soon as their previous employers can find their replacement, Cepeda said.
CUC’s nonresident workers usually have a two-year contract, but pending the announcement of the federal regulation on guest workers, they will be given a contract until Nov. 2011, Cepeda added.
“We are waiting for the federal regulation that will give us an idea about the status of the workers,” he said.
Aside from the eight, CUC has also hired two nonresident mechanics on Nov. 29, 2010 and on Feb. 11, 2011.
Each will receive an annual salary of $17,282.
