Imported labour for construction industry | Sunday Observer

Imported labour for construction industry

30 April, 2017

The government needs to have an effective regulatory mechanism in place before entering into trade agreements. “ETCA will be a threat to the construction industry, if regulations to safeguard the industry are not passed, before the agreement is signed,” Chamber of Construction Industry President, Dr. Surath Wickramasinghe said.

The move by the government to import labour for the construction industry is a timely move. It is an appropriate measure and will ease the labour shortage. There are many projects in the pipeline and labour is a crucial factor in carrying out the projects, he said.  “If the country wants to show that the economy is booming, projects should get off the ground.

However, labour import should be carried out on a project-by-project basis where appropriate labour is selected from the skilled and unskilled sectors,” he said.The construction industry also faces a severe shortage of sand. A cube of sand stands at Rs 16,000 which is too high and has contributed to the increased cost of building construction. The escalating cost has specially affected house construction where the cost is going up on a regular basis.

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