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Due to its cost savings nature and ability to ensure constant jobs for contractors, this study aims to assess the capability of the labour-only procurement system to serve as a surviving strategy for construction contractors in a challenging economy.

The study adopted a mixed-methods design. An interview and questionnaire were used to harness information from 98 construction participants who have been involved in labour-only procured projects. These respondents were identified through snowballing. Frequency, percentage, mean item score, Mann–Whitney u-test and content analysis were used in analysing the data gathered.

Result revealed that participants are willing to execute more projects through this system because it gives considerable cost savings for clients and provides reduction in contractor’s risk and allows them to maintain healthy cash flow. The main factors influencing its usage are the client’s decision to procure materials, need for job at hand for contractors and the need for referrals from clients for subsequent jobs.

Findings of this study will assist contractors to understand the potential of this procurement system as a surviving option in a harsh economy. Small and medium contractors can make use of this available opportunity of having projects at hand at reduced risk to ensure continuous cash flow to keep their organisations afloat.

The contribution of this study to the body of knowledge lies in its provision of a reasonable insight on the inherent nature of a procurement system as a surviving strategy for contractors unlike the usual assessment of the generic survival strategies adopted in other studies.

March 18, 1966 Trade Dispute — Acts in furtherance of — Procuring breach of contract — Sub‐contract for “labour only” — Trade union objection in principle to “labour only” contracts — Industrial action to procure termination of sub‐contract continued after opportunity to learn terms on which sub‐contract terminable — Application by sub‐contractors for interim injunction — Whether industrial action prima facie unlawful interference with sub‐contract — Whether “labour only” contract “contract of employment”, Trade Disputes Act, 1906 (6 Edw. VII, c.47),s.3 — Trade Disputes Act, 1965 (c.48),s.1.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

This research paper concentrates on the reasons why the labor-only procurement of construction services is being commonly used in Nigeria. Adopting a survival strategy for hard economic times of accepting labor-only work benefits small- and medium-sized contractors by providing quick sources of cash flow and by allowing them to build more client relationships, while small private clients benefit from cost savings and from controlling material quality.

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists, and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influences of the characteristics of procurement strategies, in this instance labour-only, on project performance concerning health and safety (H&S), a project performance indicator.

Using non-probability purposeful and snowballing sampling methods, questionnaires were used to collect data from construction professionals in Nigeria. This was then analysed using descriptive (frequency and mean scores) and inferential statistics (Mann–Whitney-U and Kendall's Tau_b tests).

The findings indicate a statistically significant negative correlation between ‘the level of client involvement and ‘fatalities' and a positive one with ‘conducting of health and safety risk assessment' and ‘conducting employee surveys on health and safety attitude’. Poor hygiene is found to be the worst lagging indicator, while conducting of inspection is the most adopted leading indicator of project health and safety performance. It also emerged that there is no significant difference in the health and safety performance of projects procured through the procurement strategy in urban and rural areas.

The study provides valuable insight into the complexities in H&S management due to the high level of client involvement in labour-only procurement system (LoPS) projects and the level of diversity in their responsibilities therein. It creates a fundamental direction for developing a detailed framework or guidance notes for client involvement in the integration of H&S into LoPS projects.

This is the first study that examines the influence of the characteristics of procurement strategy on project health and safety performance. Evidence in the literature shows that project delivery outcomes significantly improve if procurement is strategically used, including when it is considered early in projects. However, integrating H&S into procurement strategies has received little attention.

Waste generation by the construction industry is a significant issue for the industry and for society generally. The paper examines previous studies about attitudes towards waste management within the industry and by means of a small questionnaire study sets out to examine: the extent of labour only sub‐contractors' awareness and understanding of waste as an issue, their perceptions of the causes of waste and their attitudes towards the allocation of financial responsibility for waste minimisation. The survey shows that the results of previous studies can be extended to labour only sub‐contractors and it identifies a willingness, beyond what might have been anticipated for this group, to accept some of the costs of waste reduction.

The critique of the neo‐classical theory of the labour market has been growing in strength in recent years. Two main strands can be identified. The American traditions emphasise the role of the production process of firms or industries, either in terms of its task requirements (Doeringer and Piore 1971), or the mode of labour process control (Edwards 1979). The British tradition emphasises the role of trade unions and the character of the industrial relations system (Rubery 1978; Nolan 1983). By looking at one industry — construction — and thereby controlling for production process and industrial relations system, this article suggests that firm type, in interaction with the product market, is also an important factor in generating non competing labour markets.

Credit is central in labour allocation decisions in smallholder agriculture in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of credit constraints on farm households’ labour allocation decisions in rural Burkina Faso.

The study used a direct elicitation approach of credit constraints and applied a farm household model to categorize households into four labour market participation regimes. A joint estimation of both the multinomial logit model and probit model was applied on survey data from Burkina Faso to assess the effect of credit constraint on the probability of choosing one of the four alternatives.

The results of the probit model showed that households’ endowment of livestock, access to news, and membership to an farmer-based organization were factors lowering the probability of being credit constrained in rural Burkina Faso. The multinomial logit model results showed that credit constraints negatively influenced the likelihood of a farm household to use hired labour in agricultural production and perhaps more importantly it induces farm households to hire out labour off farm. The results also showed that the other components of household characteristics and farm attributes are important factors determining the relative probability of selecting a particular labour market participation regime.

Facilitating access to credit in rural Burkina Faso can encourage farm households to use hired labour in agricultural production and thereby positively impacting farm productivity and relieving unemployment pressures.

In order to identify the effect of credit constraints on farm households’ labour decisions, this study examined farm households’ decisions of hiring on-farm labour, supplying labour off-farm or simultaneously hiring on-farm labour and supplying family labour off-farm under credit constraints using the direct elicitation approach of credit constraints. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine this problem in Burkina Faso.

March 21 and 22, 1973 Building — Labour‐only sub‐contract — “The Lump” — Duties of care by contractor to sub‐contractor — Negligence — Plaintiff sub‐contractor injured by dangerous nip in cement mixer property of contractor — Whether contractor under any contractual duty or other duty to provide safe plant and equipment or to warn of defects — Relevance of sub‐contractor's breach of statutory duty — Construction (General Provisions) Regulations, 1961 (S.I. 1961 No. 1580), regs. 3,42.

DESPITE assurances from the Union most concerned that “every endeavour will be made to keep Montague Burton workers in employment” it seems inevitable that the massive redundancies announced a month ago will take place. Nor does it seems possible that these unfortunate people will readily find employment elsewhere — certainly not in the towns where they are living and working now. In every sense, it will mean a major upheaval for most of them.

The construction industry struggles in environmental and economic performance due to waste generation. Several studies have measured this waste in the construction industry of developing countries like India, Brazil, China, Nigeria and Iran, and proposed strategies to enhance the overall efficiency. But no such work exists in Pakistan's context. The construction industry of Pakistan contributes significantly to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). And with several mega projects in progress to overcome the energy crises and improve the infrastructure of the country, the absence of proper waste management policies and plans calls for empirical research. Therefore, this study quantifies and benchmarks material waste in the local context, its impact on project cost and the effect of multiple subcontracting arrangements on waste generation. It also proposes a conceptual waste management plan (WMP) for local conditions which can be generalized for developing countries.

This paper uses a mixed research approach by leveraging Saunders's research onion model. To benchmark the current wastage practices, quantitative data of material waste in the Pakistani construction industry are gathered through document review of accounting systems, inventory and payment records of 40 completed building projects. Using the data, the waste rate of different materials is measured along with their impact on cost. Additionally, the role of subcontracting arrangements in waste generation is also investigated. Also, semi-structured interviews are conducted with project managers of high- and low-performing construction organizations to propose a conceptual WMP for the local industry and developing countries.

The highest wasteful materials by quantity are wood, sand and concrete blocks, and those by cost are wood, bricks and steel. By quantity, 123% more material was used on average than the actual productive work. Also, the labor only (L-O) subcontracting arrangement causes maximum waste. Moreover, the difference between the highest (155%) and lowest wasting company (104%) is 51%, highlighting the proactive and resistive waste management culture and approach by the worst- and best-performing companies. Further, the impact of waste quantities is more than 2% of the project cost. Finally, a conceptual model consisting of measures at the project, industry and national levels is also proposed as a guide for developing countries.

The findings of this benchmarking study can help improve the project planning, execution and monitoring, and control practices by providing a better understanding of the material waste potential. This will help economize the construction industry and improve its sustainability.

This is the first benchmarking study that quantitatively measures material waste in the construction industry of Pakistan. It highlights that costly as well as sustainability-implicating materials are frequently wasted in the local construction projects. Also, this study correlates the wastage with subcontracting arrangements. Additionally, an original conceptual WMP is proposed that could help the industry improve its performance. The findings could help the construction professionals identify the loopholes in their material management practices and not only save money but also ensure better sustainability.