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Construction industry faces worker crisis amidst the boom
Indian workers take a break at a building site in Colombo
Large scale development projects in post war Sri Lanka have taken the construction industry by surprise, but job vacancies for construction workers are going a begging.
The building industry, a sector that contributes almost 10 per cent to the country’s GDP is seeking workers from neighbouring countries to fill in these vacancies, the Board of Investment (BOI) said.
BOI Chairman, Upul Jayasuriya said many companies have requested to bring in Indian, Nepalese, Bangladeshi and Chinese workers to work in their construction sites.
The BOI estimates that some Rs.6, 500 billion worth construction projects during the next three years would require around a million workers.
However, Sri Lanka, at present has only around 600,000 workers, a shortfall of about 100,000 workers and many projects are being done with a minimum work force.
The Sunday Times learns that even the Port City development project has many vacancies for skilled and unskilled labour that have not been filled.
Several hotel projects, apartment and high rising building projects are compounding the problem, Mr. Jayasuriya said.
Mr. Jayasuriya said the Government’s good intention of providing jobs, through this development projects has not produced the desired result because youth are not interested in such jobs.
They seem to prefer to take up unskilled jobs as three wheeler drivers or security personnel. The demand for workers in the hotel sector and the garment industry are also on the rise with around 20,000 job vacancies existing in these sectors,” he said.
Chamber of Construction Industry, President, Dr. Surath Wickamasinghe said the paucity of workers has slowed down the progress of building projects.
“The Rs. 1.4 billion Water Front project under construction needs around 2600 workers but there is only a workforce of around 600. This is a huge problem,” he said.
Mr. Wickramasinghe said the BOI had received many requests seeking permission to get workers from the Phillippines, India, Bangladesh, China and Nepal.
He said the BOI had granted approval to import workers for some ongoing projects, on the condition that the companies would be responsible for sending them back once the project was completed.
Mr. Wickramasinghe said the attitudes of the youth had to be changed by giving them vocational training in order to make them productive and useful citizens to the country. On the other hand there were 1.3 million three wheelers in the country and 95 per cent of them were manned by youth. Regulating the importation of three wheelers could be one way to steer youth towards seeking employment in the construction industry.
Sanken Construction (Pvt) Ltd. Managing Director, Ranjith Gunatilake said the industry sector had developed substantially in the past seven years and the demand for labour had suddenly spiked.
He believes the 30-year war and zero development during that phase had made people complacent and lethargic and not wanting to do hard work. This was forcing the industry to look for overseas labour. However, Mr. Gunatilake said, there was lot of red tape in bringing foreign labour down, as there is no provision in the Bureau of Foreign Employment Act to import labour. “They can only export labour,” he said.
He also said it was imperative to change the attitudes of workers and inculcate discipline at work. “If the workers put in at least 30 per cent productive labour we can achieve a lot. They have no discipline while at work,” he charged.
In addition, there are calls from industry experts to regulate the industry by introducing safety measures at construction sites. “There should be rules against workers from using mobile phones during work hours in addition to making it compulsory to wear helmets at construction sites.”
“There is no regulatory body to monitor the prevention of accidents and provide compensation if any. We are talking to the government and relevant authorities on this matter,” he said.
Meanwhile, Controller General, Immigration and Emigration, M.N.Ranasinghe when contacted said that resident visas from three months to one year is being granted to overseas workers on a BOI recommendation. “It is the responsibility of the BOI companies to check the qualifications and suitability of workers and send them back when the period is over.”
Construction Industry Development Authority, (CIDA) Director Development, Sumada Amarasekera said that the industry can emulate the Home Guard Service model that developed into a nation-building force. It could be taken up as a model to build up a work force for the construction industry. He suggested state jobs for construction workers with a pension and other perks.
Others in the industry have suggested recruiting schoolleavers and giving them a training in the construction fieldand attracting women to the workforce by training them as electricians and plumbers.