An increase in the minimum wage of construction workers and an attractive benefits’ package will attract applicants to enter the country’s construction industry.
This is a recommendation from the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP).
In addition to the increased minimum wage, ALU-TUCP Spokesperson Alan Tanjusay also calls for the provision of better facilities and clean barracks for the construction workers.
This was in response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that there is a shortage of construction workers in the country which, according to him, caused the delay of several projects under the ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure initiative of the government. Those who should be working in the construction industry goes out of the country to work as overseas Filipino workers.
The President urged the skilled Filipino workers abroad to return to the country and participate in the massive infrastructure development efforts of the administration.
More than 200K job vacancies
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) also confirmed the President’s statement stating that there more than 200,000 vacancies in the construction sector which needs to be filled.
Among the vacancies are for the jobs of leadman, foreman, riggers, masons, steel men, carpenters, plumbers, scaffolders, surveyors, and spotters.
Hydraulic operators, sheet filling operators, vibro machine operators, and heavy equipment mechanics operators are also currently in-demand.
On the other hand, Director Dominique Tutay of the DOLE-Bureau of Local Employment said that the salaries of the construction workers already went up in 2016 based on the study conducted by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
She said that their wages already went up as high as P1,500 and as low as P450 in 2016 and might have already gone up again, at this time.
Meanwhile, Senator Joel Villanueva challenged claims of lack of construction workers in the country, saying that the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has already produced 234,534 graduates in construction and other related fields.
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