Construction industry facing labour shortage

THE domestic construction industry is facing an acute shortage of labour, says Master Builders Association of Malaysia (MBAM) president Foo Chek Lee.

He said the shortage is particularly felt by small contractors, Nanyang Siang Pau reported yesterday.

He said the industry needs 600,000 to 800,000 more workers in order to meet the estimated need of 1.2 million workers in the industry.

Foo said although industry players are bringing in Bangladeshi workers through Construction Labour Exchange Centre Bhd despite grouses by some that these workers’ performance is below expectations, the numbers are far too small to meet the huge demand.

“It was announced in the 2018 Budget that works will commence on some mega projects, such as the Kuala LumpurSingapore High Speed Rail, MRT and LRT extension lines to stimulate the economy. However, it did not spell out a clear foreign worker policy, less so give any explanation how these projects can be implemented without adequate labour,” said Foo.

He said although MBAM strongly supports the industrialised building system (IBS), automation and the training of a skilled workforce among the locals to reduce reliance on foreign workers, these measures take time to produce the desired results.

In the shorter term, he said, the industry must overcome the issue of labour shortage in order to complete the mega projects listed in the Budget.

“For this reason, MBAM earnestly hopes that the government would take a serious view of the problem of labour shortage and come up with a solution.”

He lamented that although Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed had earlier said those in the manufacturing industry can apply for all of their foreign workers online, there is no mention that this policy is open to players in the construction industry.