THE Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will conduct a study seeking to rationalize the pay scale for construction workers to attract more people to the trade and increase the number of applications for its training programs.
TESDA Deputy Director General for Policy and Planning Rosanna A. Urdaneta said that the agency wrote to the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and private construction companies regarding its plans to push for higher pay for construction workers.
“One of the things we are now doing with them is coming up with a study with them on raising the pay scale,” she said in an interview with BusinessWorld.
She added that higher salaries in the construction sector “will make the industry more attractive to workers.”
The study is expected to be completed in a year.
“It will entail a lot of processes before we arrive at a pay scale,” Ms. Urdaneta said.
She added that part of the agency’s motivation is to attract more construction trainees by assuring them of employment at certain salary grades.
“Anyone who trains with TESDA should be employed according to the new pay scale, especially as that person builds up skills,” she said.
According to the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE), entry-level salaries for masons, welders, and, metal fabricators range from P8,000 to P13,000 a month. — Gillian M. Cortez

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