Marshall Islands businesses are said to be upset by a new alien labour law that they say is unfriendly to the private sector.
The new law went into force in January, and Marshall Islands Chamber of Commerce leaders say among the problems is that it makes all aliens already working in the country "illegal" while their applications for extensions are pending with the government¹s Labour Division.
They also object to the exemption of the government from any of the provisions of the new law.
Business leaders say they are upset by the final version of the law because they spent months in a joint government-business working group to modify earlier drafts of the legislation but now see those meetings as a wasted effort.
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The Attorney General, Posesi Bloomfield, says the criticism is patronizing and extremely offensive to the parliament and the legislative process.
The Attorney General says the law was subject to extensive consultation and it is unfortunate if business leaders were led to believe that every one of their recommendations would just sail through without further review
