Circular No. 15/2019/TT-BXD guides the determination of construction labor unit prices

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Determining Unit Prices of Construction Labor

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Pursuant to Decree No. 81/2017/NĐ-CP dated July 17, 2017 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction;

Pursuant to Decree No. 68/2019/NĐ-CP dated August 14, 2019 of the Government on the management of construction investment costs;

Considering the proposal of the Director of the Construction Economy Department;

The Minister of Construction issues this Circular guiding the determination of unit prices of construction labor.

Article 1. Scope of application

This Circular guides the determination of unit prices of construction labor (including construction labor and construction consulting labor) for determining and managing construction investment costs including: preliminary total investment estimate, total investment estimate, construction budget estimate, construction tender price, construction project cost, construction contract price, construction price index, and budget estimates for various construction consulting tasks.

Article 2. Applicability

1. Agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the determination and management of construction investment costs for projects using state budget funds, state capital outside the budget, and public-private partnership (PPP) projects as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree No. 68/2019/NĐ-CP dated August 14, 2019 of the Government on the management of construction investment costs.

2. Encouraging organizations and individuals to apply the provisions of this Circular to implement the determination and management of construction investment costs, and to determine construction investment costs as the basis for fulfilling financial obligations to the State for other projects using different sources of funds.

Article 3. Principles for Determining and Adjusting Unit Prices of Construction Labor

          1. The unit prices of construction labor determined according to the guidelines in this Circular shall comply with the following principles:

          a) Consistent with the skill level according to the labor grade in the system of construction project budget norms, working conditions of construction workers; characteristics and nature of work; consistent with the content, nature of work, position, and skill level and quality of construction consulting labor.

          b) Consistent with the market wage rate for construction labor (including factors compensating for wages due to living conditions) in each locality, but not lower than the minimum regional wage set by the Government.

          c) Meeting the requirements for paying certain expenses that employees must pay according to regulations (social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, trade union fees).

d) The unit price of construction labor is determined based on an 8-hour working day.

          2. The unit price of construction labor will be adjusted when there is a change in the market wage rate for construction labor.

Article 4. Contents of Unit Prices of Construction Labor

1. The daily unit price of construction labor is the daily unit price of construction workers directly involved in production, drivers, machine operators and equipment operators, survey engineers; ship captains, ship officers, boat and sea vessel controllers, sailors, engine room staff, technicians; artisans, divers working under normal conditions.

2. The daily unit price of construction consulting labor is the daily unit price of domestic construction consultants, including senior engineers, project leaders; chief engineers, department heads; engineers; technical assistants with intermediate, college, and vocational training levels, which includes all salary, salary allowances, and insurance contributions that employees must make according to regulations (social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, trade union fees).

3. The unit price of construction labor for special tasks is the unit price of construction labor working under dangerous and hazardous conditions (high mountain road construction projects, tunnel construction projects; offshore construction projects and some other special projects).

4. The unit price of construction labor is surveyed, determined, and published according to 10 groups of construction tasks at Appendix 2 of this Circular. For the eleventh group of construction labor, which is special construction tasks, the survey and publication of the unit price of construction labor for this group depend on the specific characteristics of each locality.

5. The unit price of construction consulting labor is surveyed, determined, and published according to 04 groups of construction consulting tasks announced in Appendix 3 of this Circular.

          Article 5. Method for Determining Unit Prices of Construction Labor

1. The unit price of construction labor is surveyed from the following information sources:

a) Determined from direct survey results at projects in the announced area.

b) Statistics from final settlement documents or bidding results of similar projects in the announced area, adjusted according to the construction labor price index at the time of determination.

c) Determined from the results of surveys conducted by experienced experts, project owners, contractors, and individuals and organizations in the construction field.

d) Combining the results of the above investigations and statistics.

2. The unit price of construction labor for one worker in a group of construction tasks is calculated as the arithmetic mean of the collected and compiled unit prices of construction labor according to the formula below:

(1.1)

Where:

- : unit price of construction labor for one worker in the jth group of construction tasks in the task classification table in Appendix 2 of this Circular (VND/day);

- : unit price of construction labor performing the ith task in the jth group of construction tasks published in Appendix 2 of this Circular, the unit price of construction labor performing the ith task is determined through investigation and survey according to the guidelines in Appendix 1 of this Circular (VND/day);

- m: number of unit prices of construction labor compiled in the group.

3. Detailed methods for determining unit prices of construction labor are specified in Appendix 1 of this Circular.

4. The unit prices of construction labor are collected and compiled according to the forms specified in Appendices 7, 8, 9, and 10 of this Circular.

          Article 6. Method for Determining Unit Price of Construction Consulting Labor

1. The unit price of construction consulting labor shall be surveyed, determined, and published for four groups of construction consulting services as set out in Appendix 3 of this Circular.

          2. The unit price of construction consulting labor shall be surveyed based on the position and professional qualifications of consulting experts at units engaged in construction consulting activities.

          3. The unit price of labor for a consultant within a group of construction consulting experts shall be calculated as the arithmetic mean of the unit prices of construction consultants in that group, specifically according to the following formula:

 (1.2)

Where:

- : the unit price of labor for a consultant within the kth group of construction consulting experts in the table of classified levels of construction consulting services in Appendix 3 of this Circular (VND/unit).

- the unit price of labor for a consultant performing work l in the kth construction task group published in Appendix 3 of this Circular, the unit price of labor for a consultant performing work l is determined through investigation and survey in accordance with the guidance provided in Appendix 1 of this Circular (VND/unit);

          - n: the number of unit prices of construction consultants compiled in the group.

          4. Detailed methods for determining the unit price of construction consulting labor are specified in Appendix 1 of this Circular.

5. The unit price of construction consulting labor shall be collected, compiled, and published according to the forms prescribed in Appendices 12 and 13 of this Circular.

          Article 7. Management of Unit Price of Construction Labor

1. The Ministry of Construction shall publish the framework unit price of construction labor for three types of construction workers across four regions as set out in Appendix 4 and the framework unit price of construction consulting labor for four groups of construction consultants across four regions as set out in Appendix 5 of this Circular.

2. The People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities shall direct the Department of Construction to take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies and units to conduct surveys or hire qualified consultants to collect information, determine the unit price of construction labor suitable to the framework unit price of construction labor published by the Ministry of Construction as the basis for periodic monthly or quarterly publication or delegation of publication of the unit price of construction labor, serving as the basis for establishing and managing investment construction costs in their respective areas, and report the results of such publications to the Ministry of Construction for monitoring and management.

3. For construction works belonging to individual task groups; construction works not included in the published list or construction works included in the published list but the unit price of construction labor published by the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities does not match the type and construction conditions of the project, the provincial People's Committee may organize surveys, supplementarily publish, and adjust the application thereof to establish and manage investment construction costs for construction projects in their respective areas.

4. The funds for conducting surveys, collecting information, determining, and announcing the unit price of construction labor shall be allocated from the regular budget of provinces and centrally governed cities. Specifically, the cost of organizing verification surveys of the unit price of construction labor determined by the project owner through budget preparation shall be counted as part of other consulting fees in the investment construction costs of the project.

          Article 8. Implementation Organization

1. The Ministry of Construction shall provide guidance, inspect, and supervise the determination and publication of the unit price of construction labor by localities as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 32 of Decree No. 68/2019/NĐ-CP dated August 14, 2019 of the Government on the management of construction investment costs.

2. The People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities shall publish or authorize the Department of Construction to publish the unit price of construction labor and the unit price of construction consulting labor according to the form prescribed in Appendix 11 of this Circular.

3. Project owners, construction contractors, and construction consulting contractors operating in the territory of provinces and centrally governed cities shall have the responsibility and obligation to provide complete and accurate information about the unit price of construction labor in project files for local construction specialist agencies to compile, determine, and publish the unit price of construction labor.

Article 9. Transitional Provisions

          1. In cases where the total investment amount and construction project budget have been approved before the effective date of this Circular and have not yet organized for contractor selection, the investment decision-maker shall decide on adjusting the unit price of construction labor within the total investment and construction budget to serve as the basis for determining the tender package price based on the unit price of construction labor published by the People's Committee of the province or city, ensuring the progress and effectiveness of the project implementation.

          2. For construction tender packages that have signed construction contracts before the effective date of this Circular, they shall be implemented according to the contents of the signed contracts.

Article 10. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from February 15, 2020, and replaces Circular No. 05/2016/TT-BXD dated March 10, 2016, of the Ministry of Construction on guiding the determination of unit prices for construction labor in construction investment cost management.

2. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, it is requested that agencies, organizations, and individuals reflect them to the Ministry of Construction for consideration and resolution./.