Latvian road construction company SIA Binders experiences a shortage of workers. Because of that, the company plans to attract guest workers from Ukraine and Belarys, says Bindars board chairman Aigars Seja.
“The situation remains largely unchanged year after year. The number of potential workers keeps getting smaller. We search for people every season. Our human resource department has a great deal of work. Local workers are our priority, of course. We work a lot with youth. We visit colleges, schools, and organize open door events. There are no guaranteed results, but we do try to pique youngsters’ interest in this. We’ve made some progress in this lately,” said Seja.
He notes that the situation is that there is a shortage of workers and qualifications are down. This is why the importance of foreign specialists is on a rise.
Seja says that Binders is seriously considering attracting foreign workforce from Ukraine and Belarus.
“We are very close to attracting workers. Building constructors already have experience in this. We do not, but we have gathered much information about it. We have to prepare should a need arise. We’ve done our homework,” explains Seja.
When asked if those could be seasonal workers or engineers, Seja said the company had enough engineers, but there was a need for seasonal workers.
“We are largely prepared to attract foreign workforce, but there are still some topics in need of clarifying. Maybe local workforce will be enough for us. We have to wait and see,” says Seja.
When asked if foreign workers demanded higher wages than local workers, he said wage levels were similar.
He also said that Binders provided seasonal jobs to around 500 workers. During winter, however, this number drops to 350.
“While in the past it was easier to attract seasonal workers, this is no longer the case. While in the past seasonal workers returned for the next season, the pay is no longer worth it following changes to the unemployed support provision order,” adds Seja. (BNN/Business World Magazine)