Best Sunshine International’s annual workforce plan is currently being reviewed by the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Department of Labor, according to local media sources.?The company currently operates Best Sunshine Live in the T Galleria shopping center on Beach Road in Garapan, Saipan
In order to ensure its compliance with the law and in keeping with a provision of the casino license agreement, which is exclusive to Best Sunshine on Saipan, the plan was submitted by the subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Imperial Pacific International Holdings Limited (HKG:1076) on October 4, said Department of Labor Secretary Edith Deleon Guerrero on Tuesday. Detailed in the plan are the number of local, U.S. citizen, and foreign workers that have been hired by Best Sunshine and the positions they hold.
At a board meeting last month, the company was questioned by the Commonwealth Casino Commission regarding whether or not it was still in compliance with the provision in its casino license agreement that requires 65 percent of its workforce be U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
Best Sunshine said in a statement to local media that “would continue to follow and meet what is required based on the exclusive casino license agreement,” and added that the current number of import labor is 45 percent, as reported by Asia Gaming Brief. However, at the time the Marianas Variety reported that the company’s submission indicated that 30 percent of its local workers had either resigned or been terminated from their jobs.?Guerrero was asked by Commission Chairman Juan Sablan what the reasons for the terminations and resignations were, and reminded Best Sunshine to be sure to continue to meet the U.S. worker requirement.
In a recent interview, Best Sunshine said that meeting the requirement to hire 65 percent local workers is something it is still struggling with due to the fact that a majority of the locals do not have experience with casino gaming activities, according to The Guam Daily Post.?Best Sunshine said that once its non-gaming facilities open, it plans to hire more local workers in Saipan, but that the 65 percent U.S. worker requirement is unrealistic considering it will need 4,000 employees for its investment.
Best Sunshine opened its temporary casino and training facility in July last year and hopes to open Phase I of the fully integrated resort, the Grand Mariana Casino and Hotel Resort, on the island before the year’s end.