The National Union of Civil Engineering, Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers, yesterday urged the Federal Government to allow the importation of cement, to force down its price.
Its Secretary, Mr Babatunde Liadi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the high cost of cement was negatively affecting construction workers.
A bag of cement currently sells for N2,300, up from the N1,500 it was sold in December 2010, representing an increase of about 44 per cent.
Liadi said the major cement manufacturers had blamed the situation on the rising cost diesel.
He said the price of cement might not reduce unless measures were taken to address it.
"We have been crying out over the high cost of building materials, especially cement and it is affecting the activities of developers.
"We are calling on the government to intervene because developers are abandoning projects and many workers are being affected.This is not good for the economy,’’ he said.
The union scribe said if construction workers were not being used, it would further compound the level of poverty in the country.
He noted that the industry was already groaning over the non-payment of about N60 billion owed construction companies by government agencies.
He said it was regrettable that the few construction workers, who managed to secure jobs, were being negatively affected by the increasing cost of cement.
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