Saipan police rescue 6 abused Filipina dancers

CHALAN PIAO, Saipan – Six Filipina dancers in one of Saipan’s popular night clubs were “rescued" by police and labor officers on Thursday afternoon from their housing unit over complaints that the workers were subjected to labor abuses by their employer. The rescue came a few days after one of the dancers called the Philippine Consulate General here that they were being falsely imprisoned, were not paid their overtime wages, were excessively charged $1,000 each for physical examinations, and their passports were being withheld by their employer. The Philippine Consulate General called the attention of the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) government to the workers' plight. The Filipina dancers – aged 21 and 22 – were brought to a protective shelter. Philippine Consulate General officials here are set to meet with the rescued workers this week. The night club these dancers worked for, Club Jama, has not been operating since Thursday night because six of its eight dancers are now in protective custody. The joint rescue operations by the CNMI Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigation Bureau and the CNMI Department of Labor came a few days after one of the dancers called the Philippine Consulate General, asking for help to file a labor complaint against Club Jama for labor violations. Police spokesperson Lei Ogumoro said the joint operation at around 2 p.m. on Thursday resulted in the rescue of six women from the Philippines who were being falsely imprisoned in an apartment complex located on the third floor of the Joeten Chalan Piao building. The women told police that they were being held against their will in their barracks and were not allowed to leave the premises without close supervision by another employee of Club Jama. The victims, according to police, also said they are owed unpaid overtime wages and their employer had charged them $1,000 each for their physical examinations, which they later discovered to be only $35 each. Investigators also discovered that the women’s passports were being withheld by the club manager, who threatened the women to prevent them from reporting to local authorities. Under CNMI law, passports should be in the possession of foreign workers at all times. Jack Ernest Strange, manager of Club Jama, declined to comment. The case is currently under police investigation. The US Attorney’s Office is likewise investigating the case. The Philippine Consulate General and the Federal Labor Ombudsman’s Office have been looking into allegations of labor violations committed by Club Jama long before Thursday’s rescue of the women. One of Club Jama’s former dancers, who is now back in the Philippines, is willing to testify against the club management, GMANews.TV was told. Besides unpaid overtime wages, the dancers were also being forced to dance naked even if they have their monthly period. It is legal to work as nude dancers in night clubs on Saipan, but prostitution is illegal. Club Jama is one of the most popular night clubs on Saipan but, like many others, they have been a subject of investigations and labor and criminal cases over allegations of unpaid wages, barracks lockup, human trafficking, and employment of minors. Most of the strip dancers on Saipan are from the Philippines. They are mostly paid the minimum wage of $3.55 an hour. - Haidee V. Eugenio, GMANews.TV