Abstract:
It is a cognitive belief that the vibrant construction industry is an indicator of positive
economic development of a country. However, published knowledge suggests that the
construction industry is both diffused and inadequately defined. Further, as a worker
intensive industry, it employs a significant percentage of the workforce. In many parts of the
world, workers are engaged informally. However, in the past, many expected fast demise of
informal sector with the introduction of stern regulatory frameworks by international
agencies and respective countries. On the contrary, informal sectors have grown into
informal economies and emerged in new guises and forms. Hence, delivery of construction
projects is generally accepted to be performed with the participation of large numbers of
informal sector workers.
Current knowledge reveals that the informal worker behaviour is characterized by their
survival based living strategy to earn a reasonable income while keeping adequate provisions
for migrating to other industries as the opportunity arises for better prospective.. However,
project managers attempt to deliver projects under formal construction contracts within
agreed parameters. This conflict of interest is a route cause for many project delivery issues
which should be understood in managing projects. Thus, there exists a research gap to study
the behaviour of the informal sector workers for effective and efficient project delivery,
which is covered by the current research in Sri Lankan perspective.
Data collected through questionnaire surveys from 242 construction workers. Results
indicate that informal workers’ motive is to earn a reasonable income, formal training,
recognition and to continue in the sector until they possess both mental and physical capacity
for hard work. Among the research findings, it is noteworthy that a very little percentage
(15%) of workers remained in the construction industry after they reached 45 years of age
and only 21% have more than ten years of experience. Hence, the industry is running the risk
of large unskilled workforce. With shrinking youth population striving for better education in
countries like Sri Lanka, short supply of labour youth for the industry also is possible, if the
trend continues. In the analysis of data, it was also found that the level of annual absenteeism
of an average worker is about one third of the year due to internal migration, health reasons,
or cultural, social and family events, jeopardizing the planner’s schedules. Therefore,
construction project planning invariably need to consider the informal worker behaviour and
manage them on merits.
