Home' Trinidad and Tobago Guardian : January 16th 2014 Contents JANUARY 2014 • WEEK THREE www.guardian.co.tt BUSINESS GUARDIAN
NEWS | BG7
Chinese labour in T&T supplanting local skills
and labour is the equivalent of economic
recolonisation, said Christopher Garcia, pres-
ident of the T&T Contractor's Association
"A lot of these foreign companies are state-owned Chinese
companies. How can we compete against one of the major
economic powers in the world? When they come here, they
come with their workers, they come with their tools, with
their equipment, and most of the component of the building
they are going to produce. We are almost recolonised by them.
It is a form of economic recolonisation," he told the Business
Guardian, in an interview on January 9 at his office, CG Con-
struction Services, Jerningham Place, Belmont.
During the Patrick Manning administration, among the
projects Chinese companies like the Shanghai Construction
Group worked on were the National Academy for Performing
Arts (NAPA), the Government Campus and Ministry of Edu-
cation Building on St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain.
China is funding the new hospital in Arima, the Children's
Hospital in Couva and George Bovell 111 Aquatic Centre, also
Garcia said the problem of the Chinese giant, with its pop-
ulation of 1.6 billion---almost swallowing up smaller countries
with their large resources and labour force---is not only in
"It has happened in the Bahamas all the way down the
Caribbean. They are everywhere. I was recently in Ghana in
Africa and the same Chinese company, Jiangsu International
that is in T&T, is also in Ghana doing work there too."
Garcia said the Government cannot solve the labour shortage
in the construction sector by importing foreign labour.
"We do not solve it by building a hospital and importing
hundreds of Chinese workers. We do not solve it by building
the South Debe Campus and importing Chinese labourers.
We cannot solve it by building the Aquatic Centre in Couva
by importing Chinese labourers."
He said it is important for underdeveloped countries to
develop infrastructure, but it must be for all citizens and not
a small segment of society.
"Governments want to remain in power. They want to
develop their countries and development means building hos-
pitals, campuses, police stations. But they can not do it for
one per cent of the population and that is what the Chinese
are doing in other countries. So it is a short-term benefit as
we get something cheaper than what it might cost a local
developer to do. But our children and grandchildren will be
paying for that years in the future."
He said the Government should be developing the skills set
of local contractors so these companies can grow and develop
to the point where they are exporting their services.
"Look at the petrochemical industry. We have people from
this industry all over the world. That is how I would like to
see the construction industry."
Garcia said there are nationals from other countries that
visit T&T to work and leave when they have finished their
projects, all with the Government's blessings.
He accused the Government of having double standards.
"I have seen Colombians, Mexicans, Hondurans come. They
do certain parts of the project, spend a month and go. If my
company were to bring in a quantity surveyor from the United
Kingdom, I would have to get permission from the Government
to get a work permit. It is a long process and I would have
to prove there is no one else in T&T who can do it. Does the
same supply when the Government bring in Chinese labour?
Or do they just get carte blanche approval?"
Garcia described the living conditions of Chinese workers
in T&T as appalling.
"I have seen some of the conditions of these workers. As
a country, I do not think we should want to be part of that.
It is almost a dehumanising experience."
Despite these pressures, he said local contractors do the
same quality work as their foreign counterparts.
Garcia referred to the Uff Commission of Enquiry into the
Urban Development Corporation of T&T and the public con-
"Prof Uff made the statement that local contractors are no
better or no worse than foreign contractors."
Speaking on the issue of money owed to contractors, Garcia
said this can only be solved by legislation.
He gave the story of when the Government just came to
power in 2010, there was meeting of all the contractors over
money they were owed.
He said a small contractor spoke at a meeting the Prime
Minster held and almost cried over being unable to pay the
bank because he could not get the money owed to him by the
Government and he lost his only truck and other equipment
to the bank.
"Is this fair? Do you know how many contractors are on
the verge of losing their business because they are not paid
on time? We are suffering now. The only way to get over that
is through good procurement legislation. There are over 100
state agencies with no standards or uniformity. The industry
represented by the JCC has put together draft legislation and
has been modelled on the Jamaican model, which has worked
very well. There is a contractor general that deals with pro-
curement for public money," he said.
He said the problem is that the Parliamentary Joint Select
Committee used some of their suggestions as well as other
stakeholders and he complained this has diluted the draft leg-
"We are disappointed as there is a move not to follow our
recommendations and this committee has put together a hodge
podge of three other proposals. It is contradictory in a lot of
areas. We really hope that does not form our legislation,"
Without calling names, he said some contractors are favoured
over others when it comes to payments owed to contractors.
"Some favoured contractors get paid before other contractors.
So your invoice goes in and it is at the top of the list and there
is someone else's at the bottom, a phone call is made and that
person at the bottom is paid before you who are on top of
the list. That is the way it goes. Contractors are under a lot
of pressure because of that."
He made it clear the TTCA does not want to see a "boom"
in 2014, but wants sustained development instead.
"We should get values for money on projects. We should
develop our skills set to become an economic force in the
region. We should have proper procurement legislation."
Chinese labour in T&T is like
"A lot of jobs will be rolling out in prepa-
ration for elections next year. There will be
an increase in small to medium-sized projects,
housing, box drains, the agriculture sector,
like the paving of secondary roads and small
access roads for farmers," he said.
"A lot of hardware dealers complain that
business was not active as it should have been.
A lot of people are holding back money because
there is not enough incentive from the Gov-
ernment for people to spend. For years I have
been asking Government to bring an incentive
for repairs for houses that causes people to
spend on building materials."
Eusebius Yee Ken, managing director, the
Arima-based Yee Ken Hardware believes there
has not been much increases in building mate-
rials over the past two to three years.
"There are a lot of hardwares in T&T and
there is stiff competition, and in a market, if
you increase your price, you do not sell as
your customers will go somewhere else. That
is the beauty of competition," he said.
He said cement is the mainly building mate-
rial that has increased in the last two years.
Last January, Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL)
announced a 9.5 per cent increase in the price
of its Premium Plus cement. In May 2012 it
announced a 20 per cent increase in the price
of bulk cement.
"Cement is the exception and, of course,
the monopoly situation with TCL. When they
increase their prices, then we have no choice
and we still have to buy it. But when cement
goes up, the price of other related materials
go up, like concrete blocks," Yee Ken said.
He said ABEL last week reduced its prices
on clay blocks by ten per cent.
"I believe they want to stimulate the building
and construction industry. They are a big
player and they have a lot of blocks to sell."
Whether or not there is a "boom" in the
construction industry, Yee Ken expects the
prices of construction materials to remain
steady in 2014.
"Once there is no shortage, I think the prices
will remain the same."
MORE JOBS TO ROLL OUT NEXT YEAR
From Page 7
President of the T&T Contractor's Association
PHOTO: SEAN NERO
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