As Nova Scotia deals with another wave of COVID-19, people in the construction industry say staff are dropping fast and construction projects are getting harder to complete.

“We’ve been impacted pretty hard,” said Nick Rudnicki, CEO of RSI Projects. “A number of our crew members have said they’re not comfortable showing up to work.”

According to its website, Halifax-based RSI projects “is focused on residential and commercial renovation, new home build, and working closely with clients and architects to make the process as smooth and efficient as possible.”

Rudnicki said some people in the trades, plumbers and electricians for example, aren’t working in homes with residents inside “so renovation work isn’t really happening at all.”

Some employees are concerned about higher cases numbers and an inability to maintain physical distancing at a work site.

Fewer workers on the job site

Rudnicki said projects are now taking longer than a month ago. They’ve gone from having upwards of 15 people working at a job site to as few as two.

“Part of a job that would normally take a week is now taking a month because of reduced capacity and slower productivity with needing to observe the restrictions,” he said.

Construction workers are exempt from current gathering limits. But Rudnicki said physical distancing in many cases isn’t possible for workers so some have chosen to stay away.

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