Amid covid-19, the housing crisis, the environment and the labour shortage, the construction sector faces many challenges. Its 3,879 companies employ nearly 50,000 people in the grand duchy, according to national statistics bureau Statec. The Groupement des entrepreneurs, affiliated to the Fedil, represents the largest 46 companies and their 8,000 employees. With the appointment of the new president, Delano’s sister publication Paperjam caught up with the outgoing president, Jean-Marc Kieffer, who heads the CDCL (Compagnie de construction luxembourgeoise), as well as his successor, Marc Giorgetti , who also heads the Félix Giorgetti group.

Mathilde Obert: What role does your Group play in defending the interests of the sector at the heart of the health crisis? 

Jean-Marc Kieffer: We worked behind the scenes, especially after the first lockdown, during which we were closed for about four weeks. We have put in place measures with the government to allow us to reopen. We’ve been trying to negotiate with the competent minister to get help.

How has the crisis affected you?

J-MK: There are a lot of projects that have been staggered, especially in the area of office buildings. In the public sector, they kept pace. The companies then turned to the public, which caused a drop in margins, which were already under pressure. Prices have gone down by about 5% to 10%. That puts us under pressure. But it is nothing compared to sectors that are completely closed. We also had a decrease in productivity due to covid measures.

Marc Giorgetti: For example, in terms of transport, we have four workers, instead of seven, per van.

The state is an important provider of contracts.If it decided, after the crisis, to review its priorities, would the sector find itself in greater difficulty?

J-MK: Yes, absolutely. We must – and this is an intelligent policy that the government is putting into practice – invest in times of crisis. We were already far behind in terms of infrastructure, and it is important that the current government as well as the previous one have launched all the projects that are now underway.

Have all the delays on the construction sites at the beginning of the crisis been caught up with?

MG: We worked overtime, which is also an additional cost. But generally speaking, we’re not too far behind.

Apart from the health crisis, what are the concrete actions implemented by the Groupement des entrepreneurs?

MG: The most important thing we have worked on is the Institute for Training in the Construction Industry (IFSB), in Bettembourg, the only private school in the country where we train our workers.

J-MK: Additionally, there is always the subject of the dumping of inert materials. We are in constant contact with the government, the commons, various stakeholders, in order to open new landfills.

What problems does the lack of landfills cause?

MG: There are three big lanfills, so. when we have an excavation to do in the south, we have to drive all the way to Colmar-Berg to empty the truck.

J-MK: Ideally, it would take about 15 small ones, spread across the country. You have to know that what you dump there is earth. This whole process, ecologically, is a disaster.

MG: A study shows that for our trucks, this represents the same CO2 consumption as the entire city of Diekirch. Because of the shortage, landfills are also very expensive. You pay eight euros a tonne, just to unload the dumpster and leave.

J-MK: Of course, the price is passed on to the end customer.

Apart from opening more landfills, what actions can be taken to green the sector?

J-MK: It is indeed a great subject, which I put on the agenda of the Group two years ago. We have to build differently. With materials that could be reused 100% once the building is deconstructed.

MG: Between the houses we made 20 years ago and those today, we have already been able to reduce energy consumption by two-thirds. The materials used today are no longer a problem. Concrete is recyclable. For insulation, there is recyclable rockwool. The problem is products such as asphalt to make roads, based on petroleum.

What innovations are underway in this regard?

J-MK: Of course innovation is inevitably happening. In fact, in Bettembourg, we have a research and innovation centre that is trying to move in that direction.

MG: But it has to be economically viable. It should be noted that the inspectorate of labour and mines (ITM) is asking for certain things, and the environmental ddministration is asking for the opposite. For example, the first one asks for 500 luces of light in a corner so that the office is compliant, while the second one wants there to be as little light as possible.

Construction also consumes a lot of water, according to the administration dedicated to its management. What is being done to reduce this?

MG: Water is mostly needed to make concrete. Cement manufacturers do their utmost to recover it.

There’s also recruitment issues… 

MG: We want to rebrand the entire construction industry. An area that is also open to women.

J-MK: We offer interesting career paths, with great diversity. We will make efforts to communicate this to the general public.

MG: We are in competition with the state and the municipalities, where wages are much higher. We cannot keep up.

To improve the image of the sector, often accused of social dumping, are you asking for more control?

J-MK: Absolutely. We work hand in hand with the ITM to fight against undelcared work. .Unfortunately, this still exists.

MG: For example: an employer who hires a worker coming from abroad. The employee is paid according to Luxembourg law. The company puts him in a container and takes half of his salary for rent. That way, at least in Luxembourg, the company is in good standing and cashes in on the rent. This is something that is hard to control for the ITM, and it’s unfair competition for our companies.

What about competition from foreign companies?

MG: For us, going to work in France is an ordeal. Whereas in Luxembourg everyone is welcome.

J-MK: We built the Metz hospital together. After two days, the gendarmerie, the police came to check on us. It’s a kind of protectionism. Here, the ITM will pass at some point, and that’s it.

One of the major problems in the grand duchy is the shortage of housing. How do you think this crisis can be resolved?

MG: We regret that private companies are not at all involved in social housing. It’s the state’s watch, but it’s not moving forward.

J-MK: A solution could be to increase density, that is to say to build higher. It would be easy to put a small wooden structure on all buildings in order to add two floors. We would be able to create 20% more housing without spending on infrastructure.

So why are we not doing it?

J-MK: It is incomprehensible. The other concern is the procedures that go on forever and prolong the delays. If you don’t simplify them, you’ll never get there. Developers do not speculate. They are there to build, they do not buy land to wait 20 years.

We talked about the environment, training, recruitment, the housing crisis.... What are other challenges for the sector in the years to come?

MG: Home office will be a topic for the sector. Maybe there will be fewer offices, bigger houses. Before we take any action, we have to look at all the consequences for trade, the contribution of cross-border workers to social security...

J-MK: It would be nice if we could mix work and home more. If you work in the same building you live in, you will no longer have traffic problems. But there are many neighbourhoods where the PAG does not allow for a mix between workspaces and housing in the same building.

This article was originally published in French on Paperjam.lu and has been translated and edited for Delano.