A range of major construction sector employers from across Canberra have joined the CFMEU’s call for the ACT to introduce formal and comprehensive trade licensing for skilled construction labour.
The coalition of voices is calling for trade licensing to be introduced for carpenters, joiners, glaziers, bricklayers, painters, plasterers, tilers, and waterproofers. Currently the ACT only requires licensing from a small number of on-site trades, including electricians and plumbers. This puts the ACT out of step with most other Australian jurisdictions.
The CFMEU has co-singed a letter to Construction Minister Rebecca Vassaraotti – with CTR Pacific, ACT Interiors, 4Site Commercial, Tricolours Painting, and Civion Construction – calling on the ACT Government to act urgently.
“It’s no secret that unions and employers don’t always see eye-to-eye, but we all agree that comprehensive trade licensing is long overdue in the ACT,” said CFMEU ACT Secretary Zach Smith.
“Along with the construction boom, the ACT has also experienced a boom in the number of complaints about serious project failures. Most commonly these complaints relate to building quality.
“For example, water damage is one of the most common complaints to ACT’s Fair Trading unit, but in most cases the culprit is not the plumbing – it’s poor waterproofing and tiling. As things stand a tiler in the ACT is defined as whoever picks up a trowel that day. Small wonder we’re seeing these building quality issues crop up regularly.
“But our unlicensed environment goes beyond the risk of catastrophic failure. As climate change progresses, the weather resistance and energy usage of structures has never been more vital.
“The ACT and federal governments are placing stricter requirements on the insulation standards of all new builds. But mandating the materials to be used covers only half the story. The skill and care with which these materials are installed will ultimately determine how a building performs.
“High quality, heat retaining concrete will crack and shift without expert formwork carpenters to install it. Energy efficient double-brick walls will be worse than useless without skilled bricklayers to appropriately space, lay and load them. Highly efficient heating and cooling appliances are wasted when internal walls are poorly plastered allowing leakage into internal building voids.
“Builders and consumers should be able to trust the quality of every trade employed on an ACT building site. We can achieve this if the ACT Government introduces a comprehensive occupational licensing scheme to ensure that minimum standards are set and enforced for every form of skilled work in the sector.”
