Construction costly as demand for artisans up

The cost of labour in construction industry in Kenya has increased significantly as the real estate sector continues to grow.

High demand for artisans working in the industry has made their wages double and for others like electricians and plumbers triple due to their specialized skills.

The artisans, mainly referred to as fundis, are demanding as high as $7 (Sh600) wages per day, up from about $3. 5 (Sh300) some years back.

However, those seeking Sh600 are the unskilled artisans, whose main duties include mixing sand and cement and ferrying blocks.

For masons, their pay goes up to as high as Sh1,020 ($12) per day depending on the kind of building one is constructing, material being used and where the house is situated in the case of the capital Nairobi.

Real estate developers  who fail to meet wage demands of artisans are facing tough times. Those paying low wages being shunned or the artisans running away in the middle of a project. “You cannot work for someone who is paying you about Sh500 day yet you can do the same work for double that amount,” said Calvin Muchunga, a mason in the capital Nairobi.

Muchunga is currently working at a site in Nairobi’s eastlands area where the developer is building a five-storey building. “I have been working there since early April. The developer is building rental houses,” he said. The mason, as others working at the building earns Sh935 ($11) a day. “I started working at the site after moving from another in Kahawa Sukuri area where I was being paid $9 (Sh765) a day. We had not even completed the work, but the fact that I got a better offer made me move,” he said.

 Some of his colleagues at the site also moved with him while others found better offers elsewhere. “That is what is happening in the sector. You are in the middle of a construction but if someone gives you another job, with better pay, you move.  Construction at the site where I was working before moving stalled for sometimes due to departure of workers,” he said.

 Save for foreman, majority of workers, especially masons and unskilled artisans are paid on a daily basis.

need basis

They get jobs through foremen or referrals from friends. The workers do not sign contracts and are retained on need basis. Peter Okange, an NGO worker who is building a house in Ruai, on the outskirts of Nairobi, noted that construction has become expensive.

“When I started building the house, I was paying mason $8.3 and the other workers $4.7. Five months down the line, I am now paying masons $10.5 and the others $5.5,” he said.

Okange was forced to hike the pay after some of the workers at the site left in search of greener pastures.  “I had planned to finish the work in about nine months. After departure of some workers, I feared I may not achieve the goal that is why I had to increase the pay of those who had remained”,   added Okange.   Antony Kuyo, a real estate consultant, said some property developers bring people from upcountry, then host them which becomes expensive.      

  ­—Xinhua


 

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