The status of construction workers in the high - rise building projects of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Sri Lanka is a developing country and the construction industry plays a vital role in the contribution of the GDP. From the previous research, it was found, the construction workers play an important role in the project success and it’s very difficult to keep them sustained in a project from the beginning to the end of a project. There’s a huge job opportunity for the construction workers in the industry but still, the workers are not stable. Due to the difficulties in managing the construction workers, main contractors are assigning subcontractors to complete the tasks. Therefore, this research is being initialized to identify the Life status of the construction workers and the challenges faced by the subcontractors in the high-rise building projects of Sri Lanka. Based on the review of the literature a questionnaire that was prepared for the construction workers, main contractors, and subcontractors are reviewed. Analysis of the responses demonstrated that the satisfaction of the construction workers rely on the satisfaction of their family life, the status of the job and the satisfaction of their remuneration. From the main contractors' perspective, it is profitable for them by giving subcontracting. From the subcontractor's perspective retention money is highly influenced by the main contractors in subcontracting to continue the job even though they fail. The subcontractors failing in the industry due to the unskilled labour force and low rates imposed by the main contractors. According to the findings of this research study, it can be concluded that the main contractor, subcontractor, and construction workers are interconnected as a triangle and all three parties must have a strong relationship between them for the project's success. The life status of the construction workers can be increased by implementing the labour standards in the industry. The main contractor should prepare the rates fairly for the subcontractors and should maintain a long-term relationship. Further studies can be done for other industries.