Some 472,000 construction jobs would be at risk due to the blockades in Colombia

The Colombian Chamber of Construction (Camacol) announced that more than 472,000 workers in the construction sector in Colombia could lose their jobs due to the blockades and demonstrations that have occurred in the country in recent days.

The executive president of Camacol, Sandra Forero Ramírez, pointed out that since the beginning of the mobilizations that have been carried out in Colombia in the framework of the national strike, construction companies have tried to maintain their operations in order to guarantee employment to those nearby of the million and a half Colombians who work in the sector.

However, Forero indicated that despite the efforts they have made, the figures for the number of people who could lose their jobs due to the blockades is not encouraging.

“The blockades and road closures that continue today already directly affect 472,138 construction workers who have not been able to carry out their work or reach their work points, which puts their livelihoods and that of their homes at risk.” Said the president of Camacol.

The union’s directive also detailed that, of the 2,289 building projects that are currently under construction, both residential and business, 75% of them have had to completely pause their work or have their activities affected due to the difficulties of displacement of its workers or the difficulty of finding vehicles to transport the inputs of the works.

Along the same lines, the president of Camacol even announced that due to the same factors, 80,000 workers in Valle del Cauca could also lose their jobs, taking into account that most of them have work-labor contracts, that is, that their work depends on each of the projects they carry out.

“84% of the workers live in a situation of vulnerability, in strata 1 and 2, and 89% do not have a source of income other than that of their work”, Forero said, adding that home buyers would also be affected, as Portafolio learned.

In the last days, even the Colombian Committee of Steel Producers of ANDI, an entity made up of Acerías Paz del Río, Gerdau Diaco, Grupo Siderúrgico Reyna, Sidoc and Ternium, companies responsible for 100% of the production of said input for construction, also announced that 45,000 direct and indirect jobs were also at risk due to the blockages in the sector.

“The blockades violate the rights of millions of Colombians; it is time to attend to social demands while we return to work without restrictions”, said the committee’s executive director, María Juliana Ospina.

The leader of the steel producers also assured that so far in the national strike, the sector has stopped receiving about $248,000 million pesos.

Faced with the situation, Camacol asked the National Government and the National Unemployment Committee to advance in the negotiation, without maintaining the roadblocks, in such a way that all the economic and social sectors of the country can return to normality, in such a way, that they no longer register losses.

“Camacol calls on the departmental and municipal authorities, within their legal and constitutional powers, to take the necessary measures and actions to restore public order in the different regions of the country affected by roadblocks and closures, and guarantee free mobility and the protection of the rights of millions of Colombians,” concluded the Colombian Chamber of Construction.