Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The House of Representatives introduced a bill yesterday to amend local laws to include guest-workers permits for the stevedoring industry.

At the moment only the canneries are allowed to bring people in from Samoa under guest-worker permits.

The bill was introduced by Tualauta Faipule Samuel Ioka Ale Meleisea. According to the measure, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a severe shortage of workers on island.

“Efforts were made to open flights from Samoa to bring in guest workers for the canneries, however the need for workers is still high.

“One of the industries with a significant influx of business is the stevedoring industry.

“Since the closing of the borders and restricted travel, online shopping has drastically increased, causing a real need for workers in the stevedoring sector.”

The bill states that the American Samoa Port Authority has experienced a 15 percent increase in cargo and container volume since 2020.

“In the dire circumstances that we are currently facing, one solution is to allow guest worker permits for those who work for our stevedoring industries.

“Allowing the expansion of the guest worker permit program will help address the worker shortage on island and support our private sector.”

According to the bill, the Section 41.0902 of the American Samoa Code Annotate is proposed to read “ the Attorney General of American Samoa is authorized to issue guest worker permits subject to the requirements of this chapter for the purpose of entry of persons of Samoan ancestry born in the independent State of Samoa into American Samoa for purposes of employment by either of the two canneries or stevedoring industries.”

The bill also proposes to amend the section by removing call centers and replacing it with stevedoring industries.

StarKist over the years has had issues with hiring cannery workers hence the revival of the guest Worker Permit Law, allowing the cannery to hire workers from Samoa based on certain requirements, in 2019 under former governor Lolo M. Moliga.

In April 2022, the American Samoa Government issued a statement reporting that 906 block permits were issued for potential guest workers, and at the time, 772 guest workers were approved and working in the territory.

(Editor’s Note: Samoa News should point out that the bill reads as specific to “persons of Samoan ancestry born in the independent State of Samoa” — which smacks of a ‘racist’ intent. What purpose this type of specificity serves the local community is unknown. It’s certainly ‘un-American’. The question begs if the U.S. Armed Forces had such a restriction — allowing only persons of “American” ancestry born in the U.S. to serve — where would many of our children be now? Additionally, this is the same type of racist language used in similar guest worker laws enforced in the territory since about 2011.)