THE NUMBER of unemployed construction workers has skyrocketed from approximately 902 in 2007 to 3,505 today, according to the Federation of Building Contractors
The “rampant unemployment” in the construction sector witnessed in 2008 and 2009, was their biggest concern said Nicos Kelepeshis, the general secretary of the federation.
The Federation advocates ameliorating the economic crisis in the building sector by constructing and renovating buildings, roads, infrastructure, and other projects.
The 2010 targets the Federation advocated are: increasing private enterprise by providing tax relief through incentives to developers, entrepreneurs and households to initiate construction projects, accelerating the procedures for issuing building permits in urban areas, using funds for European infrastructure and energy efficiency projects, and creating a plan to renovate hotels and other buildings by providing tax relief, planning incentives, and government-backed low interest rate loans for approximately two years.
Responsibility should be taken by increasing construction employee wages “despite the serious impact suffered by the sector by virtue of the global financial crisis,” said Kelepeshis.
“Demonstrating respect for workers and institutions and observing the relevant provisions of the Collective Agreement will help at a very critical period for everyone,” he added. “With this logic immediate drastic measures by the state should be taken, as well as establishing a common strategy to address the crisis.”
The group is also concerned with the decrease in Joint Technical Committee for Construction Contracts (MEDSK) contracts between 2008 and 2009, which saw a 12.5 per cent drop. The value of these contracts also decreased in the time period by 23.5 per cent.
The Paphos and Famagusta municipalities witnessed the largest drop in the number of contracts – almost 50 per cent.
Only the Nicosia municipality stayed in the black, increasing its contracts by about 3 per cent and its contract values by about 6 per cent.
The Federation also noted a reduction in Council of Registration and Control of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors (SEEE) work, which it said shows a similar trend to that of MEDSK contracts. The percentage of SEEE projects begun in 2009 decreased by about 11 per cent.
The largest decrease occurred in the Larnaca and Famagusta districts with a 30 per cent drop each. Limassol saw a 12 per cent drop.
Nicosia again made a strong showing, only reducing its SEEE work by about 2 per cent.
The Federation also touched on the reduction in the holiday homes market, noting a “sharp contraction in external demand likely to persist through 2010.” The percentage of holiday homes bought in 2009 decreased by 61 per cent from 2008. Nicosia and Famagusta remained stable, while Paphos, Larnaca, and the British markets there suffered the greatest reductions of about 45 per cent each. Limassol and its Russian market saw a 35 per cent reduction.
