More skilled hands needed to rebuild
Construction crew shortage in St Elizabeth
LACOVIA, St Elizabeth — Two builders are bemoaning the lack of sufficient skilled hands amid a shortage of labourers in the construction industry to repair and rebuild hundreds of houses here.
Despite the challenges, Kiron Tomlinson, who has been a builder for more than 30 years, is pressing ahead with re-roofing homes.
Some houses in Burton district near Lacovia were stripped of their roofs during Hurricane Melissa’s October 28 assault, including a property on which Tomlinson and his work crew are installing a new roof.
“We going to put one foot of belt on it and bolt it, and place it down properly,” he told the Jamaica Observer last Wednesday.
Although he has a plan to re-roof the house, the time to complete the task will take longer than usual due to the limited number of masons and carpenters.
“Right now I wouldn’t mind if I could get a couple more [workmen], because I could send them somewhere else to work while I am here,” he said, adding that he has other projects that have been stalled because of the shortage of skilled labourers.
“Mason and carpenter are the two hardest [workmen] to get,” Tomlinson disclosed.
His colleague, Kevin Green, the operator of Kevin Construction, shared a similar sentiment.
“We short of workers…I can’t get any workers. Skills workers are short overall. In an emergency [job], I would have more people to move quicker — like 10 to 12 people — to get it done. Now I am working with about half of the manpower. When we could be finished in one week, it will now take two weeks,” he explained.
When asked about the most effective way to rebuild to withstand strong winds, similar to that experienced during Melissa, Green said concrete is being eyed as a suitable option.
“The best overall is decking, but it would be more expensive because that [concrete] will damage the [existing] tiles. We have to use more hurricane straps and try to reinforce it [the roof] as best as possible,” he said.
Building contractor Kevin Green speaking with the Jamaica Observer in St Elizabeth last Wednesday.
