1.0 INTRODUCTION

The construction sector is an important sector of the economy and contributes significantly to GDP. The United Nations Environment Programme has noted that about one-tenth of the global economy is dedicated to constructing and operating homes and offices (UNEP, 1996). UNEP further observes that the industry consumes one-sixth to one half of the world's wood, minerals, water and energy. The industry generates employment and income for a significant percentage of the population, and covers a wide variety of technologies and practices on different scales. Activities include industrial processes, which transform raw materials and generate both finished products and waste.

It is now widely recognized that construction activity plays a vital role in the process of economic growth and development, both through its products (infrastructure, buildings) and through the employment created in the process of construction itself. The development of an efficient construction industry is an objective of policy in most countries. However, the focus of research and technical assistance to date has largely been upon the enterprises that comprise the sector the contractors, subcontractors and consultants.

Little attention has been paid to the labour force, about which often very little is known. This paper makes a start in redressing this imbalance. This is one of the four studies of construction labour in various towns and cities in the developing world that were commissioned by the ILO(International Labour Office) in the years passed by. The focus of the study is informal labour' in the construction sector in Nigeria Industries.

Most labour is now engaged through subcontractors and other intermediaries. Subcontractors who are themselves employed for short periods of time, invariably employ workers on a short-term, often daily, basis. They generally avoid issuing the workers with written contracts and registering them with relevant authorities, in order to avoid the on-costs associated with employing labour. Indeed, the evasion of these additional costs is often the motivation for outsourcing in the first place.

This research describes a study of workers in the building subsector of the construction industry in Nigeria. There is both a formal and an informal system of construction workers in Nigeria. The study focuses on workers in the informal system. The subject of study is the individual worker rather than the construction industries. Such

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