Contractors back PM on sectoral wage

The Trinidad and Tobago Contractors Association (TTCA) has commended the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on their decision against the establishment of a sectoral minimum wage for the heavy construction and energy sector, stating that this would have had an overall negative impact on the national economy. Government’s decision, the association stated, will help to defer substantial labour cost escalation in the wider community as well as to sustain the viability of the local construction industry, which it said, was currently reeling under “uncontrollable and sudden world price increases in major construction materials such as steel and pvc pipes.”

Recent international price increases for steel, TTCA stated, which affect the cost and availability of rebar, structural steel, sheet metal and all other steel products, have already combined to increase the total cost of some local construction projects by as much as five percent over that of just two months ago. Equally alarming was the apparent shortage that has arisen, it continued, noting that it has caused additional hardship on the ability of contractors to complete projects within budget or on schedule. “These volatile external price increases not only affect the construction industry, but will likely impact on all capital development projects in the foreseeable future,” the association predicted.

The association noted that while inevitable and reasonable cost escalation may be a logical by-product of growth, rapid and excessive cost escalation would be dangerous to the country’s sustainable development. “In this environment of uncertainty,” it noted, “good sense must prevail and Government, developers, contractors, labourers and suppliers must now come to the table with a view to finding solutions to these national and international challenges to growth. “All stakeholders in construction must work together to ensure the stability of our economy and our future,” the association asserted.