Current controversy par for the course

Current controversy par for the course

The current controversy surrounding the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board is a sharp reminder of how bad things used to be, says the industry association that represents the plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying sectors.

The chief executive of Master Plumbers, Fiona Gavriel, said today that relations between the industry and the Board had deteriorated significantly while Mr Routhan had the role.

“Industry felt marginalised and controlled by the Board. The 2010 Auditor-General’s report vindicated these concerns” she said.

“As the report stated, amongst other things the organisation was one that was closed, defensive and relying on the way it had done things in the past.”

Master Plumbers represents business owners who collectively employ nearly 5,000 trades people.

Ms Gavriel said the issues that Mr Routhan has raised at his hearing around missing gas certificates and breaches of Board protocol all occurred while he was chief executive. It was therefore surprising that these were being raised at this time.

“However, that mess has been sorted out and the PGD Board has assured industry that they have addressed the gaps in their systems which allowed this to happen. ”

Ms Gavriel said that while there is still considerable room for improvement the Board has been slowly improving its processes and regaining the industry’s trust in the period since Mr Routhan was dismissed.

“We are certainly keen to continue in this way as it can only be of benefit to all in the industry”.

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