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It was reported this week that Maurice Williamson thumbed his nose at the Ombudsman by refusing to refund to plumbers, gasfitters and Drainlayers, hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegally gathered industry levies.
It would appear Mr Williamson dismissed the Ombudsman's recommendation and claimed the Board would be technically insolvent if they had to pay this money back. We believe that to be utter Cr#*p. If the Board and the Minister can't see a way through this situation with out changing the law then they shouldn't be in office.
All that comes out of heavy handed enforcement is increased resistance. History is full of people and organisation who tried to impose their will on others and failed.
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Maurice is also trying to get a bill thru to ennsure that Civil Servants are not liable for their actions. Wal you might get some ideas from the MRRA - www.kaiparaconcerns.co.nz. They are launching legal action for the same reasons that the Federation (and every thinking person) needs to.
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congratulations to all who put in a submission , some straight to the point, some with well thought out points, I have to confess I drafted a submission but ran out of time putting it together , for that I am annoyed with myself , I will make more of an effort in the future , in the meantime thanks to all who took the time, particularly the larger submissions I wont mention any names but they know who they are , we can all only benefit from your tenacity to hold this board and past boards to account , Thankyou
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is there somewhere to view peasea? - I was in the same boat - spoke to a couple of mp's though and it is astounding the lack of understanding surrounding the issue by those at the top - kicking myself regarding the submission, work is manic at the mo - gotta take it while it is there though - there have certainly been some very lean months... about to head off to another job as I write..
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You can check the submissions on line on the Parliaments website, I am having mine returned because I named people, but have been given until Wednesday to re-edit and re-submit. Is a bit of confusion to me, that the people who did all this to me are given the right of a fair trial.....would have been nice to have had one my self.... ;)
Nice people taking the submissions and very helpful.
Come on guys what's an evening on your lap top writing down why you don't agree with this bullshit forced on our industry and jobs, one thing is for sure.... if you miss this one, the next one will be a long time coming.
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Here is a link to submissions
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Great to see so many submissions, as you say some brief and to the point others more indepth. I think the Government Administration Committee were surprised to receive so many given the very, very short time frame and the fact that no public submissions had been called for. The Federation, Master Plumbers and the PGDB have the opportunity of refuting some of the arguments of the others that were presented at the hearing. Let's hope this committee have the common sense to bring this Board to heel, and make them answer for their actions.
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thanks for the link peasea,
I fully commend all those that got a submission together and in particular the PGD federation, that submission was impressive, thorough and consise - well done!
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hi guys, yes good responce from our guys, they have not put up all submissions as i could not see my one although i was informed that it was being put on the govt web site, looks like we are still in with a chance of success, hears hoping,cheers
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If i was paying $1000 plus a year to call myself a "Master Plumber" Id be pretty disappointed with their submission.....so thats what 700 member businesses and an alleged 60% of the industry have to say about their future aye. Was barely 200 words. As usual pathetic and on the fence.
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Robbi they told me the same and it wasn't until I inquired that they told me it was being returned, because I named names, so a name less one going in to day, got until Wednesday apparently.
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hi guys, i have been in touch and have been told that some are still being processed,cheers
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Rodza, you say exactly what i was thinking re the submission from master plumbers.
They dont want to ruffle to many feathers.
One has to wonder where their loyalties lay....
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I took out all the names of my submission and re-submitted it. 8)
The Master Plumbers have 50% of the 6 tradesman/industry positions available on the Board... out of the 10 positions available over all....
Why would they go against any of it...... I think a level headed fair minded person could be forgiven for thinking they might even be responsible for it...... ::)
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hi guys, (They dont want to ruffle to many feathers.
One has to wonder where their loyalties lay....)
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Craftsman, have a look at Badgers note, cheers
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hi Robbo, i was just being polite with my thoughts.
the motive and actions are plain for all to see
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hi guys, quite right Craftsman, just because we became plumbers/gasfitters/drainlayers, it did not mean that we could have the wool pulled over our eyes by people who think that they are better than us,cheers
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FYI Guys
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Debates/Debates/e/a/4/50HansD_20130314_00000020-Plumbers-Gasfitters-and-Drainlayers-Amendment.htm
Link for the transcript of the first reading above and the votes.
Uncle Maurice's opening line, "I'm not contagious"......I hope your not :D, wouldn't want it spreading, could feck the building sector right up PMSL.
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hi guys, yes Badger i saw the video of the speech.
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as a matter of interest if you were solely a drainlayer, why should you be made to be concerned and pay for plumbing and gasfitting issues? and visa-versa the same would apply if your trade is only one of the other trades.
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when i did my apprenticeship all three trades were in it under plumbing, now they have been split up to make us require seperate licences, so they split them up to gain an advantage but want to combine them to fund all the trades problems, just dose`nt seem right, bit of fancy accounting going on here,cheers
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I am looking forward to taxi drivers being pinged when paying for their taxi licences....to finance the taxi Board when prosecuting cases against all NZ'ers for speeding and parking infringements, then all the offending people prosecuted referred to as unlicensed taxi drivers in the Taxi Board's Info Brief's and Local Newspapers. 8)
And if you think the above sentence is gobbledygook and utter bullshit, then replace taxi with Plumber and look at your industry, led by clowns. ???
I was at a meeting where some people wanted to split the present licenses into, pad plumbers, 1st fix plumbers, 2nd fix plumbers, finishing plumbers and then appliance plumbers, similar system proposed too for gasfitters.....which is great for your big firms(which most of them run/owned)....but your one man bands.....well you go work for these people who run/own the big firms.
The people with this bright idea, were in a good position to push it through too...because they were part of an over represented industry group on the Board.
Self serving turn coats.
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Hi Badger - I was at a meeting similar to that where that idea was floated and I thought it was a dreadful idea, and would only serve to dumb down the industry. I can't see how it would benefit larger firms other than get people trained to a so called "standard" faster - i.e. if you had to train an under slab plumber - then it would not take 8000 hours. If I recall the idea came from Australia and the government were in favour of it as it would process apprentices through much faster. A large firm wants staff that are multiskilled no underskilled. And in all fairness on this one - Master Plumbers were hugely opposed to the idea - it would not benefit them or their members to see people coming in to the trade underbaked - it simply puts jobs at risk. I also remember the discussion being - that there is no way an "underslab" plumber wouldn't have a crack at fitting out etc and vice versa, so all we would be doing is making problems. You can bet it will raise its head with Chch if the pressure comes on - it was last discussed during the skills shortage as a way of getting more tradesmen quickly.
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My point is Jax, a one man band having to maintain several licenses is more of a cut to his bottom line, compared to a large firm that can have one guy doing the slab, with another doing the pipe-out, etc. Or even a plumber and gasfitter
And it was the same self serving crew that tried to shaft me after my hearing and didn't come forward to help me even though I had told them what I feared and later came true, years before. They were actually apart of it all, then tried to add to the distress after all that they had put me through.
The thing is and I can't stress this enough, why are they still there? it isn't the organisation I have a problem with its the small crew of dodgy self serving snakes that I am aiming it at, perhaps it is my fault for not being more specific.
They just had an AGM, I wonder if my open letter to all associations was tabled or even mentioned.
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The same people are there because the members vote them in. That and no one new puts themselves forward. I would be interested to see the % of membership that vote. The only way to see change is for people to put themselves forward - not just once, but several times. That and it should be compulsory to vote - all members should have to vote as part of their membership agreement.
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I would have voted and put my self forward for it all, even went on a leadership course and was an association president....but they hounded me out mate. Nice people.