Cameroon, one of West Africa’s promising economies, has announced a 5% salary boost for workers in the construction sector but failed to address their concerns over safety issues and over a simmering dispute over more Chinese workers filling domestic jobs in the industry.According to local media reports, Labour and Social Security Minister Gregoire Owona said the salary increase targets workers in both public and private construction sectors and that contractors are obligated to implement the new pay raise “with immediate effect.” He also said the daily transportation allowance would rise as well.One survey estimated that the average pay for construction
Photo Courtesy Hartford Public High School Academy of Engineering and Green Technology Connecticut academy students designed Nepal school's first electricity system. Related Links: Hartford, Conn., Public High School Academy of Engineering and Green Technology An elementary school in Saldang, Nepal, has electricity for the first time ever, thanks to Hartford Public High School's Academy of Engineering and Green Technology. A group of students designed a solar-powered wind turbine, which was then transported 11,000 miles from Connecticut to the remote Himalayan village to provide the school with heated classrooms and energy to power laptops.Located at an altitude of nearly 13,000 ft,
Related Links: Bureau of Labor statistics release, with data tables AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's analysis and comments ABC Chief Economisg Anirban Basu's analysis and comments The construction industry’s unemployment rate improved in November, falling to 8.6% from October’s 9%, and also was down sharply from the December 2012 rate of 12.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported.The latest BLS status report on the nation’s employment, released on Dec. 6, also notes that construction gained 17,000 jobs in November.All construction sectors posted jobs increases last month, led by residential specialty trade contractors, which added 7,100, and nonresidential specialty trade
Related Links: Amid PPP Slowdown, India Turns to Cash Contracts Growth in India's Infrastructure Markets Projected Chinese Firms Face Political Obstacles of Working in India The phrase “human-resource deficit” is seldom associated with India, a nation of more than 1.2 billion people. But this deficit is exactly what’s happening there in the construction industry today, when the growth of the service sector and the movement away from jobs in the industry has led to a deficiency of talented and reliable people.According to a 2011 report by Ernst & Young and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the
Image Courtesy Trilogy Publications Building team career options are showcased in new book aimed at middle and high school students. Related Links: Introducing Those Amazing Builders Outreach Initiative ENR Book Review-Those Amazing Engineers This story was updated on Nov. 19 to include new details on distribution of Those Amazing Builders and involvement of AEC firms in sponsoring book orders for schools. Pushing to fill gaps in the construction workforce, particularly in the building trades, practitioners have teamed with a specialty publisher to showcase to middle- and high-school students what's "amazing" about industry building careers.Promoters hope to distribute up to 100,000 copies
Photo by AP Wideworld The popularity of narcotic painkillers has a downside and cost that some states may not fully recognize. Related Links: Tightening Up the Rules for Hydrocodone, the Favorite PainKiller The Myth of Workers' Compensation Fraud Someone forgot to send Missouri the memo about the latest research on rising costs in workers' compensation.Concerned about fraudulent claims by workers, state Senator Mike Cunningham (R) late last year sponsored a bill that would have given employers access to a free online database of compensation claims. Employers would be able to screen workers for a history of fraud, without first securing
Related Links: 'Process' Rules for University of Houston CM Students Map: Progress of Announced Gulf Coast Megaprojects Could Depend on Staffing Panelists at First ENR Energy Conference on Nov. 15 Note Market's Promise and Challenges If they plan to build it, will the workforce come?That is the question for many as the construction industry—along with owners, educators and economic boosters—scramble to meet current and projected staffing needs for skilled craft, technical, engineering and project-management employees in the wake of what could be an unprecedented petrochemical and energy project boom in North America, particularly along the U.S. Gulf Coast.The surge, driven
Related Links: Big Push To Staff Shale-Gas Projects Contractors and owners in the petrochemical and industrial marketplace in Texas and elsewhere may get an early Christmas present this December, when the University of Houston's construction-management department graduates the first students from its new process and industrial (P&I) track.The focused curriculum, which began in 2010 at the urging of energy-sector firms, is unique among U.S. engineering and construction schools, says department Chairman Neil Eldin.The P&I track includes engineering, construction and business courses similar to the school's commercial-focused CM track. But the 11-course program, primarily taught by industry experts, focuses on process-oriented
Related Links: BLS employment report for October 2013 (includes data tables) AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's comments, analysis The construction industry’s unemployment rate climbed in October, to 9% from September’s 8.5%, the Labor Dept.'s Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported. But last month's mark was an improvement over the 11.4% recorded for October 2012.The BLS report, released on Nov. 8, also shows that construction gained 11,000 jobs in October and that all sectors of the industry added to their workforces.Ken Simonson, Associated General Contractors of America chief economist, noted that October marked the fifth-straight month of construction job increases, pushing
Legal proceedings are underway in a 2011 age discrimination lawsuit against International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 117’s apprenticeship program,. The lawsuit has the potential to determine whether apprentices are considered employees and whether apprenticeship funds can be sued under the definitions of the Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967.According to the complaint filed in the Northern District Court of Illinois’ Eastern Division, John Snowwhite, 44, alleges that he was given artificially low aptitude test scores during the selection process for apprenticeship with the IBEW Local 117 Joint Apprenticeship and Training Fund in order to conceal his alleged
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