This Week in Construction (and Other) News | 19 July 2020

Singapore Rolls Out Further Support to Construction Companies

The Singaporean government was the latest to roll out further measures specifically designed to help its construction industry since the outbreak of Covid19. The Construction Support Package was introduced last week to support construction companies in the costly business of complying with enhanced safety measures.

The Straits Times reports that, as well as helping with the cost of safety compliance, the $1.36b support package will also help to relieve half of the non-manpower costs – capped at 1.8 per cent of the contract sum – construction firms in public sector projects will incur due to the prolongation of projects during this period.

Disputes on the Horizon in the UK

A UK lawyer has warned that the construction industry is headed for a rash of disputes as protections put in place by the government expire. Louise Roblan, partner at Bevan Brittan, told Construction News that she expects a spike in disputes within once the government safety-net is removed.

When you’ve got a scenario where the employer hasn’t got any money and the construction company needs money, that’s when you can see a polarisation of position between each party and that’s when the disputes start to arise. My sense is that we haven’t quite got that far yet, but we might get there towards the end of the year.

Dads Being Dads

And, finally, a father in the US has managed to embarrass his daughter while simultaneously becoming a style icon in the office and across Twitter. A while ago we posted about an Italian swimwear brand creating matching masks for their bikinis, and this dapper gentleman has taken the idea to work.

A trend to be followed on a construction site near you? High-viz masks anyone?