Workforce crisis hits construction & infra firms like L&T, KEC, HCC

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₹12,000- ₹13,000 a month, which is often barely ₹5,000 more than what they earn in their hometown. Ajit Gulabchand, chairman of engineering and construction firm HCC Ltd, noted that there was a “clear shortage of both skilled and competent workforce who are heading for not just the Middle-Eastern countries but even Russia". The chairman of the Mumbai-headquartered firm that works on highway, roads, bridges, etc., stressed on taking immediate steps to improve the gap.

“How do Indian firms get the workforce they need for these projects? We need to have discussions with the government on this," he added. Blue-collared workers are those who have learnt a particular trade and often work in construction , manufacturing, real estate, and transportation sectors. They include masons, carpenters, those who are into bar bending, and those who work with cranes.

Some of them earn on daily wages, some work for contractors, while others are picked up by staffing companies or directly by the company responsible for a project. Recruitment heads pointed out that the deployment of workforce in a largely unorganized manner is leading to few opting for these sectors. “Companies outsource construction work to thousands of contractors, each taking up one part of the project, who in turn hire workers," said Lohit Bhatia, president of workforce management at business services provider Quess Corp.

A major challenge in unorganized labour where multiple contractors are taken on board is that short-term contracts are rolled out to the workforce. So, once once a project gets over, they need to start hunting for another one. “In comparison, those in the gig workforce in retail and banking are put on one project after another since the workforce is