The local rate is $5.05 an hour.
Senate President Paul A. Manglona, the author of Senate Bill 17-56, wants a wage hike for CIP workers to raise the level of “disposable income” in the CNMI.
This, he added will encourage U.S. citizen and permanent resident workers to work on CIPs, thus reducing unemployment in the commonwealth.
But Fitial in his veto message said the bill is “unnecessary” since the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Service Contract Act and the Davis Beacon Related Act already apply here.
The governor noted that S.B. 17-56 is similar to Senate Bill 16-23 that Manglona, Ind.-Rota. offered in 2008. He also vetoed that measure in Nov. 2009.
S.B. 17-56 will ensure that contractors and subcontractors for engineering, architecture, construction, repair, painting, decorating of public buildings and other infrastructures under CIP contracts will get paid not less than the prevailing federal minimum hourly wage.
It allows the government to stop the job if the contractor or subcontractor is caught paying an employee less than the prevailing wage. The bill authorizes the director of the Division of Procurement and Supply to “debar” or suspend any person or entity who violates the rules.
But Fitial said this provision broadens the application to the CNMI of U.S. prevailing wage in the states instead of the U.S. prevailing wage in the commonwealth.
The bill also requires the Procurement and Supply director to report to the governor any change in the cost of obtaining services due to the increased labor cost.
Departments, agencies and other instrumentalities both autonomous and semi-autonomous, “shall also report to the governor about employees getting paid the prevailing wage,” the bill stated.
This provision, Fitial said, “creates additional work for the Procurement and Supply director and the heads of other government agencies to comply with the reporting mandate without adequate resources provided.”
