The General Assembly of the Central Construction Industry Council (Chuken Council, Chairman Tetsuo Okubo) was held in Tokyo on the 18th, and based on the recommendations of the expert panel "Environmental Improvement Study Group for Sustainable Construction Industry" announced last month. Discussions toward the development and revision of the legal system have started in earnest = photograph. A joint subcommittee on basic issues to be set up in the Construction Subcommittee of the Industrial Subcommittee of the Central Construction Council and the Social Infrastructure Development Council (Society Council) will begin detailed examinations from May, and will solidify the framework of the system design around August. Attention will be focused on how the content of the proposal, which includes items that require revision of the Construction Business Act, will be incorporated into the legal system.
At the general meeting, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism introduced the latest trends in the administration of the construction industry and explained the issues presented in the proposals. Citing the enactment of the three new laws as an example, he indicated that he would follow the flow of examining the system in the subcommittee on basic issues in the future. A subcommittee on basic issues will be held once a month starting in May to work out the details of each issue. An interim summary will be decided around August and reported to the Central Construction Council. In response to this, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will take steps to develop and revise the necessary systems.
The proposal for the appointment of the members of the subcommittee on basic issues was also revealed = listed on page 2. Many of the study group members, who have compiled proposals incorporating perspectives from a wide range of specialized fields and other industries, mainly academics related to the construction industry, are also listed. In addition to executives from major construction industry associations, real estate and housing industry stakeholders will also participate.
The study group's proposals listed measures to secure the consultation process between the ordering and receiving parties by improving the transparency of the contract, measures to limit low-price competition accompanied by reduction of labor costs, and extremely short construction periods. For example, we will improve the content of the items to be stated at the time of contract as stipulated in the Construction Business Act, and clarify how to deal with price fluctuations.
Under the Construction Business Act, which stipulates "prohibition of unreasonably low contract prices" and "prohibition of extremely short construction periods," there are currently no restrictions on contractors or subcontractors from accepting orders at low prices or short construction periods at their own will. The study group recommended that the Central Construction Council recommend "standard labor costs" as the minimum required level of labor costs. The subcommittee on basic issues is likely to reach an agreement on the concept of standard labor costs.
