If the number of Estonian construction workers in Finland declines as expected, the effects will be felt most acutely by the smaller building contractors, for example those working on individual detached house contracts. Kim Kaskiaro from the Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries points out that it was always thus - people who are building one-off projects will always find it more difficult to recruit labour.
Kaskiaro does not believe the reduction in Estonian human imports will have any serious impact on larger Finnish building sites, although it may lead to stiffer competition for labour.
The situation is already awkward: nearly half of Finnish contractors in the branch are suffering from labour shortages, while in Estonia the corresponding figure is said to be as high as 80 per cent.
This is borne out by comments from Maria Neovius, Vice President of HR at Lemminkäinen Corporation, who says: "Our Estonian subsidiaries are finding it difficult to get skilled labour."
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 18.2.2007
