The construction sector is all the rage: when workers leave third countries, there is no one to work for

Staff did not return

Speaking of the situation in the real estate sector at the moment, A. Avulis said that it does not look bad today, but added that the situation changes almost daily, so that companies can only anticipate a very short period of time, and the development of new projects are still viewed with great caution.

“Now we are finishing the ongoing projects, although we are also looking at new ones, but we don’t want to force a lot, we don’t have to rush anywhere, because everything can be here,” he said. They are primarily felt through contractors hired by Hanner.

“When the quarantine began in Lithuania on March 16, there was some panic among the employees who have come from Ukraine and Belarus. At that time, some Ukrainians left Lithuania for a couple of weeks.

But overall, if we look at construction at that time, volumes at some facilities were down, stopped, and there was no significant deterioration. At that time, Lithuanian builders working in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Ireland also returned to Lithuania. It can be said that at that time the market had a fairly good balance, because the demand did not increase at that time, in the second half of March – April, May. For us, as clients who buy construction sites and build houses, that period was even completely good, there was no shortage of labor in Lithuania, ”explained A. Avulis when asked how he was doing during the quarantine.

Still, he said, the biggest problems started when the quarantine ended and construction resumed.

“It just came to our notice then. Everyone recovered from the impact, construction resumed. Then the Lithuanians left where they were paid the most, but we did not receive the amount of labor from Ukraine and Belarus before the quarantine.

There is currently a great need and shortage of individual work professionals in the construction sector. Only those places used to come from Ukraine and Belarus, now they don’t come back. The reason for many is that we have to sit in quarantine two weeks after arrival, but if we look back a month when it was not like that, we still did not have those workers “, considered the businessman. According to him, today the greatest shortage of workers as finishers.

Compared to auctions

Such a shortage of workers, according to the businessman, also caused a rise in the prices of certain construction works, which, according to the comparison, rose between 20 and 30 percent.

“It just came to our notice then. Now those prices keep going up because there’s just no one to work for. Companies buy back employees from each other and they can only buy back when they offer a higher reward, like auctions. That’s the reality.” said A. Avulis.

When asked when the situation for employees could improve and when they could return to work in Lithuania, the businessman said it would happen when the vaccine appeared.

“I think that in the near future we will have to accept that the prices of individual construction works will go up, because there is no other way out. An employee auction will be held.

I think we will have to accept that reality, the prices of individual construction works will increase, and when the situation decreases, because it will continue to be the case when the vaccine arrives, then everything will return to normal and we will get construction workers from both Ukraine and from Belarus. “- he said, but added that due to the rise in construction prices due to staff shortages, this may also affect those who plan to buy real estate.

“I don’t want to be the bad guy who reports bad news, but if the situation continues as it is now, obviously it is very likely to happen,” Avulis said of the possible increase in property prices in the future.

The need for recruitment is greater than before the quarantine

Natalija Bortnikaitė, a lawyer at UAB 123, who helps prepare documents in these cases, said there is no shortage of people from third countries who want to employ foreigners today.

“There are definitely many foreigners who want to work in Lithuania, but it must be said that their shortage was constant. Employers also have a great need to hire them, perhaps even more than before the quarantine, ”he explained.

According to N. Bortnikaitė, most employers today do not want to hire Lithuanian employees simply because they do not work as efficiently as foreigners.

“Another aspect of why employers choose foreigners is not because of cheap labor, but because foreigners can devote much more time and attention to work. “Local workers have a personal life, free time and they go home, and foreigners are interested in working as much and for as long as possible, they don’t give up overtime or work on weekends,” he said.

Speaking about the construction sector, the specialist said that there are still a large number of people who want to work there, but a significant number are still those who refrain from coming.

“They are waiting for better times or they don’t want to be quarantined when they arrive, they don’t know what the situation will be like next. But whoever was ready to come, patiently waited for that period and was ready to come and go, “he added.

More hired for teleworking

In-country work permits for third-country nationals are issued by the Employment Service (UT) in Lithuania, taking into account the lack of skilled labor. Its spokeswoman Milda Jankauskienė said that after the introduction of quarantine in the country, as of March 16, such work permits for third-country citizens were no longer issued, and their issuance was renewed only on July 20.

The data for this year and last year for 9 months show that in 2020, due to restrictions on the entry of foreigners to our country during the quarantine, work permits were issued almost double: in 2020, in 9 months – 2366, 2019 in 9 months – 4584.

From July 20. the resumption of employment of third country nationals seeking to enter and obtain work permits has increased significantly: on 15 September. In 2019, 888 work permits were issued in the Republic of Lithuania. during the same period – 1041 “, – commented M. Jankauskienė.

According to her, this year the majority of citizens of Ukraine (63%), Belarus (23%), Russian Federation (4%), Uzbekistan (3%), Turkey (1.5%) came to work in Lithuania.
proc.).

During the pandemic, the need for employers to hire foreigners under a telecommuting contract increased, the number of work permits of this type was double that of 2019, while the number of seasonal work permits decreased 4.7 times compared to with 2019 as it is the highest in spring. the need for seasonal work ”, said the specialist.

He highlighted that since 2017, due to changes in legal regulations, foreigners whose profession is included in the List of Missing Professions no longer need to obtain a work permit, so UT does not have data on how many foreigners came for professions that disappeared without documents. issued by UT.