KUCHING: The construction industry in Sarawak has seen a considerable easing of the shortage of workers, but the industry still faces a tight labour supply.
Sarawak Master Builders Federation president James Ha Tung Ing said the industry is expected to face a temporary labour shortage from April to June during the upcoming Hari Raya and Gawai holidays.
“We are expecting most workers to return to their respective hometowns for two to three weeks,” he said.
According to him, “The daily-rated general workers were previously paid between RM50 and RM60 per day, but now their wages have increased to RM70 per day.”
Speaking to New Sarawak Tribune, Ha said the situation in Sarawak is very different from that in West Malaysia.
He was commenting on Malaysian Malay Contractors Association president Datuk Seri Mohamed Fadzill Hassan’s recent statement that the slow economic growth coupled with an excess in the number of contractors is making it hard for industry players to secure jobs.
“Due to a slowdown in the industry, some contractors in West Malaysia have been without projects for up to four months, resulting in an oversupply of workers and the loss of employment for many. This has caused daily-rated workers in West Malaysia to experience a decrease in wages from RM120 per day to RM80 per day when jobs are not available.”
Ha said that the majority of contractors in Sarawak are trying their best to complete the outstanding projects from COVID-19 pandemic era. However,they are facing supply chain disruption, building materials price escalation, tight or shortage labour supply and higher labour cost, slow progress payment from the state implementing agencies, among others.
He said, “Supply chain disruption, especially crusher run aggregates for road construction; aggregates for ready-mix concrete and premix manufacturing are either in tight supply or facing a shortage.
Therefore, he urged the state government to closely monitor the supply of critical building materials closely to ensure ample supply to the market at reasonable price, so as not to allow any such delay to contractors’ work and progress.
He added that state agencies must look into the licensing issues of existing quarries immediately so that disruption can be reduced to a minimal.
“Otherwise, this will burden the contractors financially as prices are in the uptrend due to increased compliance and operational costs incurred by the quarry operators.
“We are told that one can purchase granite aggregates at RM20/MT (metric tonne) in Kuantan and RM28/MT in Johor while we are buying at RM40/MT in Kuching,” he said.
Ha agreed that the industry relies heavily on public projects, similar to the construction players in West Malaysia.
He said fortunately, the state implementing agencies are rolling out many projects at the moment.
“But, it will be insufficient to satisfy too many ‘hungry contractors’. Thus, the selection of contractors by the implementing agencies will be crucial to avoid future sick or problematic projects,” he said.
The federation has noticed that the majority of terminated “sick projects” or major projects were awarded via invited tender process or direct negotiation.
“It is hoped that the process could be more transparent, to appoint qualified rescue contractors only via open tender.”
