American Samoa Attorney Genera Fepuleai Afa Ripley Jr., says the processing of the applications and incomplete information is behind the delay in approving applications under the territory’s Guest Worker Permit law.
The permit law was enacted this year to assist the two tuna canneries to recruit workers from neighboring
The law states that applications are submitted to the Attorney General for review and forwarded to the governor for final approval.
However, House member Archie Taotasi Soliai told his colleagues that information he received from the canneries indicates that the approval process is been routed to the government’s Immigration Board. Soliai also said that StarKist Samoa has not been able to meet its recruitment goal for workers for tuna pouch production.
Del Monte Foods Inc. announced in August that the company will establish additional capacity at the StarKist Samoa facility for tuna pouch production. Work is scheduled to begin in December. The cannery wants to hire 150 employees in stages.
Fepuleai told a House committee hearing that work permits are not being routed through the Immigration Board. He cited the lengthy process of reviewing applications and incomplete information as the reasons for the delay in approving them.
He said 65 applications from COS Samoa Packing have already been granted approval and about 108 more requests from the company are on the governor’s desk awaiting approval.
For StarKist Samoa, Fepuleai said 95 applications were denied because of incomplete information. He said the government is working with StarKist to obtain the necessary information.
The two canneries, the largest private employers in the territory with a combined workforce of about 5,000, continue to recruit additional workers.
COS Samoa Packing has two recruiting stations on