The article ‘Building industry risks’ by Lino Briguglio (June 27) gives a very unfair and prejudiced view of the contribution of the (wider) construction industry to the economy of Malta.
He stated that the building industry contributes four per cent of GDP. This percentage contribution to GDP only applies to the contracting part of the industry. The contribution of the wider construction industry, which includes the real estate, the manufacture of construction products, the quarrying and the professionals, amounts to circa 9.3 per cent of GDP.
Briguglio also made the argument that, since most of the materials used in this industry are imported and since, according to him, this industry now employs underpaid foreign workers, then its multiplier effect on the local economy is even more limited. This is certainly a very inaccurate view of the current situation.
The wider construction industry generates 11.1 per cent of our gross value added (GVA), which is more than it contributes to the GDP. Effectively, this means that the multiplier effect of this industry to our economy is more than that of other industries.
Furthermore, although this industry does employ a significant number of foreign workers, there are more than 20,000 people employed directly within this industry.
The reason why this industry needs to employ foreign workers is not one of choice but a necessity. In Malta, unfortunately, we do not have certain skills that we require for modern techniques of construction.
Furthermore, we have noted that, over the last years, few youngsters want to take up a career in the construction industry. Indeed, most of the courses for skills in construction at Mcast are undersubscribed.
One of the reasons why few people tend to take up such skills is the bad reputation this industry has among the population. An article such as that penned by Briguglio tends to reinforce this perception – the perception that the industry creates bad neighbourliness, causes environmental problems and does not pay workers sufficiently for their efforts.
Incidentally, his statement that “if allowed, contractors would probably not hesitate to build in green areas” is incorrect because contractors carry out their work not on the sites they choose but on the sites of their clients – usually developers.
The multiplier effect of the building industry to our economy is more than that of other industries
Hence, it is very unfair to blame contractors for development on green areas when, in fact, somebody else would have commissioned them to do such work. In any case, this is not a building industry problem but the problem of lack of planning. It has nothing to do with contractors.
We, at the Building Industry Consultative Council (BICC) are well aware of the situation within the industry. We also know that there are various problems within the industry that need to be addressed through better regulation and enforcement.
However, in our opinion, to have a better performing industry we require more persons to learn the appropriate skills which the modern industry requires. Unless there are properly skilled workers, one cannot expect to have good quality work performed in a manner that causes the least possible nuisance to neighbours and minimises the effects on the environment.
It is for this reason that in this year’s Budget speech the government announced that BICC, together with Mcast and the ETC, will launch the skill card initiative within the construction industry.
The skill card will give due recognition to the skills that a person has acquired both through formal and informal education (apprenticeship). Those who employ workers with skill cards would have the comfort of knowing that the particular employee has skills certified for the job.
The skill card is also aimed at raising health and safety awareness for all employees within the construction industry while ensuring a level playing field for local workers against unregulated foreign employees when bidding for work.
Finally, I do agree that we “require strict enforcement of construction regulations” (although, sadly, we have very few of these and we need to regulate much more) but we definitely have a good understanding of what sustainable methods of construction mean. Indeed, in the coming months, the BICC will be launching a website promoting sustainable materials and techniques to be used in the construction industry.
At BICC we have examined the strengths and weaknesses of the construction industry, an exercise I believe has never been carried out in a comprehensive manner before, maybe because construction never formed part of any ministerial portfolio. We now have proposals to address these weaknesses and deficiencies.
Rather than trying to put down the construction industry, I invite all readers, including Briguglio, to come forward with their suggestions and proposals on how to make the wider construction industry perform better while fully respecting the social and environmental aspirations of our people.
Charles Buhagiar is executive chairman of the Building Industry Consultative Council.