Οκτ172023

FIEC President intervenes at the Annual Conference  of the Irish Construction Industry Federation (CIF)

FIEC President, Philip Crampton, intervened in the Annual Conference of our Irish member the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) that took place on 28 September in Dublin. The event gathered over 500 people and focused, among others, on how construction can support Ireland’s growth indicators and increasing population, which now stands at 5.3 million people.

The Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, addressed the audience at the beginning of the conference. The Irish Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Pascal Donohoe, also gave his address at the conference focusing on the delivery of a better Ireland for all. CIF President, Joe Conway, opened the event, followed by CIF Director General, Hubert Fitzpatrick.

FIEC President, Philip Crampton highlighted how FIEC and its partners are working on some recommended principles to guide the reconstruction of after the devastating effects of the Russian invasion.

 

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Launch of ELA campaign on Construction

Today (17 October), the European Labour Agency (ELA) is  launching its communication campaign dedicated to the construction sector.As offcial partner, FIEC is actively following and promoting the campaign. Under the hashtag #EU4FairConstruction, the campaign focuses on posting of workers in the construction sector, their rights and obligation as well as those of their employers. The main objective of the campaign is to ensure that posted workers and employers are aware of the applicable legislation.

Additionally, ELA will organise an information session for workers and employers and will support concerted and joint inspections.

 

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FIEC at BIM Conference on Construction digitalisation and technology 

 

On 13 October, FIEC former Vice-President Michail Daktylidis (President of PEDMEDE, FIEC’s Greek member federation) represented FIEC at the BIM Conference held in Greece and dedicated to the technology and digitalisation strategies and actions put in place toward the digitalisation of the construction industry.

The Conference hathered more than 250 engineers from Greece and Europe. Strategic Plans and resources, roadmaps, project results, milestones and future achievements fuelled a constructive exchange on the innovative services and benefits of the Building Information Modelling, being a key enabler of the digital era for the construction and infrastructure industry worldwide.

Mr. Daktylidis presented FIEC’s initiatives to support the digital transformation of the construction sector and stressed FIEC’s unwavering commitment to support professionals in the adoption of BIM in every construction project. The contribution of BIM to improving the energy efficiency of buildings, to reducing the environmental footprint of the built environment as well as to facilitate the coordination and safety on worksites was also highlighted.

The conference was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the EU BIM Task Group.

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FIEC participates in event on “Solving Europe’s water problem”

On 10 October, FIEC participated in an event on the EU Blue Deal, hosted by the Polish Federation of Entrepreneurs.Participants discussed whether the next European Commission should put forward a Blue Deal and what type of measures should be included in this programme.

A Blue Deal could be associated with many business opportunities for bigger contractors that are already involved in numerous water projects. However, it is unclear whether the Blue Deal will be one of the political priorities of the new European Commission in 2024.

The Commission announced – in September – that an official presentation of the “Water Resilience Initiative” is planned for Spring 2024.

Renewable Energy Directive formally adopted

On 9 October, the revised Renewable Energy Directive was formally adopted by the EU Council. It will now be published in the Official Journal of the EU and come into force within 20 days. Member States will have 18 months after the entry into force of the directive to transpose it into National law.According to the final text, “Member States shall determine an indicative national share of renewable energy produced on-site or nearby as well as renewable energy taken from the grid in final energy consumption in their building sector in 2030 that is consistent with an indicative target of at least a 49% share of energy from renewable sources in the building sector in the Union’s final energy consumption in buildings in 2030“.

 

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FIEC Position Paper on the Shortage of Labour

FIEC published its Position Paper on the shortage of labour in the construction industry. The shortage of (skilled) workers in the construction industry is a persistent and growing issue in most of the EU Member States. Many companies find it difficult to fill vacancies and to recruit workers with the right skills. The Position Paper outlines the situation at national and European level. It identifies the factors of these labour and skills shortages, among which the ageing of the workforce, the attractiveness of the sector, the twin transition and its resulting needs.Furthermore, FIEC highlights good practices from Member States and proposes some recommendations to the European institutions and national authorities to tackle the issue.

 

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