Good jobs key to attracting and retaining labour

Trade union Unite, which represents construction workers throughout Ireland, today said that sustained wage rises in the construction sector are critical to prevent a loss of vital construction skills as Ireland grapples with an ongoing housing crisis.

Unite was commenting on this week’s Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) report highlighting recent wage increases and capacity constraints in the sector.

The figures cited by the ESRI are based on preliminary estimates for the last quarter.  According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), over the past number of years construction wage increases have been largely in line with wage increases in the economy as a whole.

The collectively agreed Construction Sectoral Employment Order saw workers covered by the agreement receive a 3.4% minimum pay increase effective from August 2025.

Unite regional secretary Susan Fitzgerald said:

“The construction sector has difficulty attracting and retaining workers. Many construction workers can’t afford to buy or rent the homes they build, and this is contributing to the labour supply shortages with up to 40 per cent of Unite apprentice members having considered emigrating. We need further sustained wage increases coupled with improved working conditions if capacity bottlenecks are to be addressed”.

Pointing out that vital housing projects are competing for scarce labour with commercial developments, with the government itself projecting that an additional 80,000 construction workers will be needed to meet housing targets, Unite said that housing construction must be state-led rather than developer-led.

Unite regional officer James McCabe said:

“Government housing policy must deliver good jobs as well as truly affordable homes for workers. That means establishing a public construction company employing direct labour.  It also means ensuring that any private developers contracted to deliver social and affordable housing are subject to new stringent public procurement criteria, including limits on subcontracting, collective bargaining and adherence to collective agreements”.