'Toothless' States should protect building industry
AGAIN the Guernsey public find it so frustrating about continuing reports in the news media of the white van man situation happening so often in our island. This has been going on for years and still our 'toothless' government does nothing to improve this situation and help protect the survival of our building industry. A meeting was called last year by certain deputies and the building industry attended and still nothing has happened, again toothless and afraid to do something about it. Our sister island once again are more intelligent than us and have created laws and licences to control this problem over there. Yet Jersey firms and UK firms can work here with no penalties or licences and yet if Guernsey tradesmen work over there then once again they have to use the Jersey laws to work, an unfair situation.
Reading some of the comments given by members of the public in the Guernsey Press, answers seem split.
The local trade are accused of being more expensive, yes in some cases, but they in general do not wear the cowboy's hat and ride off into the sunset.
Let's take the local heating and plumbing trade for example. If they are asked to fit unvented hot water cylinders they have to be competent to fit them, as they have to spend hundreds of pounds to attend training courses to Bpec standard as requested by our Building Control.
For central heating boilers such as oil-fired installations, they have to work to Oftec regulations.
These courses can cost £600 per person and every four years they have to retake them.
Those out there who use other tradesmen instead of local, how do they know if these installers are quality trained?
It is well known now in the trade that a lot of local installers are now also local service agents for unvented cylinders, shower pumps, shower valves, heating pumps, oil tanks, oil boilers, gas boilers etc. etc therefore our island is covered to protect the householder in many ways.
Once an out of island installer, builder, electrician etc. etc. leaves after their work here, can they be responsible for their work and fittings?
It is expensive to live in this island. Our trade has income tax to pay, social insurance, personal insurance for their business and so on.
How much revenue is this island losing to the white van man installers in income tax etc?
We should, like Jersey, start earning revenue from these outside firms coming in.
It has also been proved that they do not use local merchants and bring materials with them. It is also known that many of those who settle in this island also refuse to use local merchants and often bring in containers of materials from the UK on site.
We see at the moment many building sites have been put on hold, quite a few builders have folded due to the situation.
What is going to happen to our students about to leave school to go into this industry, training at our College of FE. They will have no work for them. They will be on the unemployed list, costing the island a lot of revenue in unemployment benefits.
It is time for our toothless government to act urgently and create licences and laws to protect our building industry.
R. S. MAUGER,
Valletta,
Rue des Frieteaux,
St Martin's,
GY4 6XA.
