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Investment is improving employment but wages are much lower than before the crisis

Construction companies are calling for the bureaucratic processes for licences to be speeded up, although things have improved

Ivan Gelibter

Friday, 3 November 2017, 10:53

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The spectacular growth in investment this year has had another benefit: employment in the construction sector is also on the increase, although, like other labour markets, salaries are still far below pre-crisis levels.

THE FIGURES

  • 15%

  • more workers have been contracted in the construction sector in the past year, according to Social Security figures.

  • 8,463

  • more people are working in the sector than in 2015

  • 400

  • euros a month less in the paypackets of labourers compared with the years prior to the economic crisis

Statistics from the Social Security authority show that 5,643 more construction workers registered between 2016 and 2017, an increase of 15 per cent. If we look back further, the growth between 2015 and 2017 has been 24 per cent, an additional 8,463 workers.

The head of the Construction department at the CC OO union, Juan Antonio Rueda, says the municipalities with the greatest increase in employment - or which are offering the highest number of jobs - are Malaga city, Marbella (especially this year) and Mijas. It is evident that the sector is reactivating, he says. Obviously we are very pleased, because now more people are working than a few years ago.

However, he says there is a negative aspect, which is the working conditions. We see cases where employers aren't complying with the contracts, companies which take advantage of their employees; some who do not pay on time; and, which is probably the main problem, the salaries are much lower than before the crisis, he explains.

He says there is still more demand for work than jobs available, and some companies - but not all - take advantage of that when it comes to taking on new workers. It's a situation we call 'labour speculation', and it is the workers who suffer. You have to bear in mind that it isn't easy to find a job on a construction project, and these contracts are only for short periods, he points out.

Juan Antonio wants councils to start building more social housing, because as well as giving more people access to the housing market it would create more jobs.

A faster process

Meanwhile, businesses in the sector are quite satisfied with the investments which are being carried out this year. The president of the Provincial Association of Constructors and Developers of Malaga (ACP), Emilio López Caparrós, says property construction is on the increase although the figures are still considerably lower than before.

In the best years, about 50,000 properties were built, but in the first half of this year there were only 2,500, which is more than three years ago but still far below the previous figures, he explains.

It would help if the bureaucratic process could be speeded up. The town halls have been working on this in recent years, but some are still quicker than others. The whole system needs to be overhauled and made more efficient, he says.

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