Regarding the intention of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to conduct a test to understand the actual wages and working hours of skilled workers in direct construction projects, the expert meeting on the 7th largely agreed that the test should be conducted based on thorough explanations and full understanding from the main contractors and subcontractors who will receive the order. In addition, there were also many opinions, mainly from main contractors, questioning the difficulties in requiring subcontractors using skilled workers to submit data and the benefits of the test. During the test, it is necessary to clarify the requirements for the main contractor and subcontractors, and clearly understand the benefits for recipients who want to realize the plan in the future.
At the meeting of the "Roundtable Discussion on the Future of Construction Management and Production Systems to Fulfill Customer Responsibility" expert group held by the Construction Management and Production System Subcommittee (led by Professor Ozawa Kazumasa, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies) on the 7th, the pilot direction presented by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism was discussed.
During the trial construction, the main contractor and subcontractors employing skilled labor will be required to submit three data to the client - wages paid, working hours and labor costs - and these data will be made public. After deciding in advance which types of work will be subject to the actual situation assessment of each project, the owner's subcontractor will submit the total wages and total working hours of skilled workers recorded in the payroll directly to the client. The main contractor will record and submit the labor costs paid to subcontractors and the actual working hours of skilled workers during the trial period.
An understanding of this factual situation would provide a basis for determining whether wages were paid appropriately for hours worked at the company level and whether labour costs were paid appropriately for hours worked at the construction level. However, some pointed out that there was strong opposition to the disclosure of subcontractor wages. Therefore, at trial, the wages payable would be the combined value of all skilled workers rather than calculated individually, and the method of payment would take into account subcontractors without going through the main contractor.
Ozawa, the subcommittee chairman, asked the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to clarify the definition of the data that will be collected during the trial and the entity that will submit this data, in order to avoid any misunderstandings on the part of the bidders. He advised that understanding would be deepened by providing specific model cases that show what can be revealed and achieved through understanding the data. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism expressed its intention to explore cooperation in the trial through careful explanations.
Additionally, experts expressed the opinion that the implementation method should be improved if necessary even after the trial has begun. Some pointed to the possibility that this trial could lead to the design of a system that improves productivity and reform work styles in the construction industry, and some expressed hope that these benefits will be promoted to contractors.
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