Nghe An: At the beginning of the year, "red eyes" looking for construction workers

House construction projects at the beginning of the year in Yen Thanh district are facing difficulties due to a lack of construction workers. Photo: Van Truong

During Tet, Mr. Nguyen Van Hong in Tho Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district started building a new 2-storey house. The foundation of the house has just been completed, according to the plan after January 10, the contractor will call workers back to build. However, it was not until January 17-18 that the group of workers returned, but only a few people.

Every day, Mr. Hong urged the contractor, but the contractor replied that after Tet, there was a shortage of construction workers, and hoped the homeowner would understand. Mr. Hong shared: The construction work was slow, making the homeowner more tired, the materials were left lying around, and he had to hire someone to look after them...

A contractor in Phuc Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district added: Currently, the unit is implementing the construction of 3-4 medium and small projects in communes in the district, however, after Tet, many workers quit their jobs to work in other areas, some people changed their jobs. Currently, the number of workers at the construction sites is only 30-50% of the required number.

"At this time, we are trying to find workers through many "channels", but it seems very difficult. If we do not meet the schedule, there is a risk that the projects will not be delivered in accordance with the contract commitments." - the contractor said.

A two-story house in Dien Chau district normally has 7-9 construction workers and construction assistants, but now there are only 3-4 construction workers. Photo: Van Truong

Some other contractors in Dien Chau district added: The shortage of construction workers is mainly due to workers "job hopping", when current workers are recruited in a "seasonal" form, without any binding, so if there is a place that pays higher wages, the construction workers will quit and move to another place. This competition pushes up labor costs, causing many workers to "look at the other mountain from this mountain". In addition, there are also some contractors specializing in construction for public investment projects, because the disbursement has not been completed by the end of 2022, they have not paid their salaries, so the construction workers have also quit their jobs.

Through research, it is known that the salary of a main mason in rural areas is about 330,000-350,000 VND/day, and that of an assistant mason is 200,000-250,000 VND/day. Such a salary is high but currently there are fewer and fewer people following this profession. Mr. Tran Van Quy - a mason in Dien Thai commune, Dien Chau district shared: Being a mason, the work is mainly outdoors, the work is hard, difficult, dangerous, and mostly without insurance.

Mr. Quy added: Working at remote construction sites often requires setting up tents, container houses... to rest and eat at the construction site, while most construction sites are far from residential areas, with poor conditions, difficulties, and hardships.

At this time, contractors are "red-eyed" looking for construction workers in Dien Chau. Photo: Van Truong

At large construction sites, there is also a shortage of construction workers at the beginning of the year. In fact, large construction companies in the province have policies to retain workers such as salary advances, labor protection equipment and full contracts. Meanwhile, at small and medium construction companies, spontaneous contractors have unstable work and unpaid wages, leading to a shortage of workers.

Iron workers in Dien Chau district. Photo: Van Truong

Due to difficulties in attracting workers, some construction contractors have had to join forces and support each other by “borrowing” workers to complete projects that are in urgent need of progress. The problem is that contracts between employers and workers have not been signed or are rarely implemented, so quitting work at the beginning of the year is still quite common because the binding responsibility is still loose.