Pinoy workers in Saipan stage rally
SAIPAN (AP) – Despite heavy rain, thousands of foreign workers, mostly from the Philippines, marched through Saipan’s tourist and business district, protesting local laws they say give them no protection amid the demise of the once thriving garment industry.
The workers rallied Friday in support of a bill in the US Congress to federalize the island’s immigration system. They say that would allow those already legally employed to retain non-immigrant work and study status in other
Demonstrators carrying signs declaring “Justice for All” also included workers from
“We’ve had rallies before but never a march of this magnitude,” said Wendy Doromal, a Florida-based teacher and human rights activist who flew to
Doromal said Congress should help the migrant workers who earn the islands’ hourly minimum wage of $3.55.
Several of
Many of the 20,000 migrant workers on the island have established families in
Victoria Tanesa, a mother from Laguna, said she has been in
“I like it here because I have no job in the
Legislation in the US House would apply federal immigration and labor rules to the commonwealth, which in the past three decades of local control has been tainted with charges of sweatshop and human trafficking abuses, especially in the once-thriving garment industry.
Commonwealth Gov. Benigno Fitial opposes the measure, saying it ignores recent improvements in labor standards and could cripple attempts to revive the islands’ depressed economy.
Officials in
Over the past decade, US lawmakers have introduced several dozen bills addressing the
The Northern Marianas economy is faltering, with the garment industry reduced from a $1-billion enterprise in 1999 to a few struggling factories, because China entered the World Trade Organization and can now sell its clothes at lower prices in the US.
Tourism also is down and government revenues have declined by a third over the past decade.
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