Marshall
Islands
non-resident companies are not subject to
the labor laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Applicable labor laws depend on the country
in which the non-resident company is operating.
The following sections only apply to resident
Marshall Islands companies.
Most of the
labor laws deal directly with the hiring of
non-citizen labor and indirectly with the
working conditions of citizen labor. However,
there are minimum wage laws and exemptions
to the minimum wage laws that deal directly
with labor in general. The following is a
list of pertinent labor laws:
The
Protection of Resident Workers Act, which
sets forth the procedures that must be followed
before importing non-citizen workers (including
prior advertisement of the job in the Marshall
Islands and employment of qualified residents);
The
Protection of Resident Workers (Amendment)
Act of 1990, which among other things requires
the repatriation after two years of employment
of non-resident workers (other than United
States citizens);
The
Nonresident Worker (Fee) Act 1987, which
requires employers to make quarterly contributions
into a training fund for Marshallese in
the amount of 25 cents per hour for work
done by aliens (other than citizens of the
United States and Palau);
The
Nonresident Worker's Health Certificate
Act, which requires that non-citizen workers
and family members entering the Marshall
Islands obtain and maintain a certificate
of freedom from communicable diseases, including
AIDS;
The
Minimum Wage Act of 1986 as amended in 1995
which sets the minimum wage at $2.00 per
hour, in non-export oriented industries;
and
The
Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 1989, which
exempts from application of the minimum
wage act non-citizen employees who are employed
by private sector employers that have been
authorized by the National Government to
invest or to do business in the Marshall
Islands, and Marshallese trainees and apprentices.
Work permits are
required for non-resident workers intending
to work in the Republic of the Marshall Islands
, regardless of the term of their employment
contract. The Government requires employers
to follow a three-stage process in obtaining
work permits for non-resident workers:
First,
they must notify the Chief of Labor in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs by letter of their
desire to employ a non-resident worker for
a particular position.
Second,
they must make an effort to hire a citizen
for the position, including advertising the
position in a local newspaper and on the radio.
Third,
if their efforts to hire a citizen worker
are unsuccessful, they can apply, using a
prescribed form, to the Chief of Labor requesting
a specific non-resident worker to fill the
position. Submission of the application must
wait at least 30 days following the initial
advertisement for the position. In their application,
the investor must show evidence of their efforts
to hire a citizen worker. They also must demonstrate
that the proposed non-resident worker has
the skills and experience to effectively fill
the position, does not possess any communicable
diseases and does not have a police record.
Every effort is made to provide the applicant
with a decision regarding their application
within 14 days of its submission.
A work permit
is issued for a specific non-resident worker
for a period of one year. The permit must be
renewed at the end of the calendar year and
can be renewed for a total of two years. It
may be extended for a third year at the discretion
of Cabinet. The Government requires all employers
with non-resident workers to agree in writing
to cover the cost of repatriating non-resident
workers to the place from which they were hired.
Non-citizen investors
issued with a foreign investment business license
are exempted from having to obtain a work permit
for themselves. Similarly, citizens of the United
States, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau
do not require work permits to be employed in
the Marshall Islands. Non-citizen investors
and nationals of the above-mentioned countries,
however, are required to register with the Labor
Office.
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