18 Oct 2018

Saipan casino lets go of 80 construction workers

4:49 pm on 18 October 2018
The 200 room hotel and casino Imperial Pacific Resort under construction in Saipan, CNMI

Photo: RNZ/Mark Rabago

A troubled hotel-casino on the Northern Marianas island of Saipan has fired 80 foreign workers, with another 100 workers expected to follow.

The development by Hong Kong company Imperial Pacific was given a more than two-year extension by the Northern Marianas government after it failed to meet an August deadline.

On Friday last week, 80 Filipino construction workers contracted to work at the site until January were suddenly dismissed.

The workers said another 100 foreign workers were set to be let go by Imperial Pacific.

The company said it was responding to the project's demand and prioritising local and American workers.

Workers on the project also told the Saipan Tribune they had been forced to do work they were not trained in, placing them in dangerous situations.