Contractors warn of inflated budgets after bar-bender pay increase
Contractors warn that rising labour costs, with bar-benders getting a 14.1pc increase, will push up bills for infrastructure works
The construction industry is in high gear, with a parade of new projects and tradesmen angling for hefty pay rises to match.
But while workers negotiate for more money - spurred by a recent record 14.1 per cent settlement for bar-benders - contractors are warning about the strains on project budgets that this will create.
The city's new projects include a bridge across the Pearl River estuary, the West Kowloon Cultural District, a high-speed railway and new MTR railway lines, which will generate great demand for labour.
The unions say higher salaries are needed to draw young workers to the trades.
"While there is no shortage of bar-benders at present, it is hard to foresee whether there will be a shortage in future because many construction projects are on their way," said the chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Bar-bending Workers' Union, Luk Kwan-ngai.
His union recently won a record salary increase from the Hong Kong Bar-Bending Contractors Association, promising bar-benders HK$1,700 a day in 2014-15, a 14.1 per cent pay rise from HK$1,490 in 2013-14.
Other unions are eager to cash in on the boom.
"I think workers are due to get good pay rises because the demand for construction workers has been high," said Ng Kwok-kwan, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union.
He is negotiating with contractors in various trades, such as bricklaying and scaffolding, to win better deals for workers.
But contractors are warning against excessive pay increases.
Choy Kin-kuen, president of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, said the bar-benders' wage deal was higher than expected and would lead to budget increases for many infrastructure projects that have already been tendered.
Bar-benders, he noted, were indispensable for major construction projects, implying that the cost of various projects could be affected by their pay increase.
Luk said there were around 7,000 to 8,000 bar-benders in the city, who are mostly in their 50s. This year 1,500 new workers joined the trade, mostly in their 30s and 40s, he said.
The union is also negotiating with the bar-bending association for an extra 50 per cent pay for work on public holidays, and is confident it will agree.
Choy called on the government to create a sustainable plan for the city's infrastructure development. "The demand for workers has to be steady, or they will just quit the field when no more projects are launched," he said.
