 PETALING JAYA: The construction industry is not affected by the shortage of foreign workers following the recent amnesty as it has reduced reliance on them by using new technologies such as the Industrialised Building Systems (IBS). Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) chief executive Datuk Hamzah Hasan said the industry realised that changes had to be made in order to become less dependent on foreign labour.
He said the designs of many new condominiums, schools, factories and even police stations now take IBS into account, which includes steel roof trusses, pre-cast frames, walls and slabs, and prefabricated partitions. “This greatly speeds up construction time as well as improves the quality of construction and reduces site wastage,” he said in a statement recently. “However, the construction sector still requires foreign workers; and these will be supplied from a number of countries, including Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Myanmar. “The amnesty for illegal immigrant workers was a wake-up call to all employers, including building and construction companies, that employment policies must change in relation to over-dependency on foreign labour. “That is also why the Government has given financial incentives to developers to use IBS in their designs,” Hamzah added.
source: The Star, 03-05-2005
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