Builders fight back as industry slows down
Cape Town's construction industry is caught in a post-World Cup slump, with several job losses and company closures.
And unions say they fear the situation would worsen.
On the upside, however, it appears that the downturn is encouraging more unemployed construction workers to open their own small businesses.
Vic Rooza, of the city's Building Bargaining Council, said it had noted a 16 percent drop in employee figures when comparing this month October last year. He supplied figures for October to August.
The National Construction Building and Allied Workers Union said the effect was most noticeable in host cities.
The union's Steve Kekana said there was a "general slowdown". "Many workers were on a contract until the World Cup ended, but with more sites finishing up now, more people are going to be laid off."
The SA Federation for Civil Engineering Contractors (Safcec) agreed and added that it had noted a 39 percent decrease in activity since the end of the World Cup.
Safcec provincial manager Roz Messenger said many construction companies had been forced to cut their budgets. At site visits, up to 30 companies would attend the inspection.
"There is just the one job and then you find about 30 companies putting a tender on the same job. That shows how little work there is."
She said some large companies had closed their Cape Town offices because of the slowdown.
But the Building Industry Council said the downturn was encouraging more people to start their own businesses.
Rooza said the council had noted that the number of employers had climbed by 2 percent compared with this time last year.
"The slowdown has resulted in more small to medium employers starting up in the industry."
He said many of the newer businesses were coming from areas, like Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha.
"We are seeing a new emerging market evolving, and it will be important to see the outcome of this trend in the foreseeable future."
Cape Argus
Posted at 09:02AM Aug 31, 2010 by Editor in Market |