9 minute read
Snapshot around the nation
Snapshot from around the nation
Australian news
Mary pleads for plumbers to be sun smart
Australian Plumbing recently received a humbling note from Mary the widow of a subscriber, wishing to cancel the magazine subscription for her husband, Eneas, who had Mary’s message recently passed for other plumbers: away. Mary Be sun smart. Skin cancer is a wanted to share a message with the readers to potentially life- ensure they threatening disease acted to avoid the same fate as her beloved husband.
“Quite often when Eneas came home from work in summer he would be red raw from sunburn, he wore a floppy hat, bib and brace overalls and in summer, shorts and a short sleeved shirt underneath his overalls,” Mary shares. “He didn’t wear sunscreen as there wasn’t any around in those days… He started to get skin cancers by the age of 35. “Over the years he had many skin cancers removed, unfortunately, a tumour that we thought had been cut out years earlier had come back quite aggressively and he passed away just 13 days before his 80th birthday.” Mary’s message for other plumbers: Be sun smart. Each time the skin is damaged by UV, the skin cells become less able to repair which increases the risk of skin cancer. Skin cancer is a potentially life-threatening disease.
Cancer Council Australia’s Sun Protection Plan 1
Slip on sun protective clothing 2 Slop on SPF 30 or higher sunscreen. Apply liberally to clean, dry skin at least 20 minutes before you go outside. Reapply every two hours. 3 Slap on a hat. A broad-brimmed, legionnaire or bucket-style hat provides good protection for the face, nose, neck and ears.
Baseball caps and visors do not. 4 Seek shade, especially in the middle of the day 5 Slide on some sunglasses.
Choose closefitting, wrap-around sunglasses that meet the
Australian Standard AS 1067. Incolink, in partnership with SkinPatrol, offer comprehensive
on-site skin checks for its members.
Are you ready for a wage audit?
The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) is auditing labour hire businesses to ensure they are paying their employees correctly. The audits started in December 2020 and will examine records from November 2020. There are three simple steps you can take now to prepare for the audits:
1 Make sure you are paying your employees correctly Check that you are paying your employees the right amount under the relevant agreement or award. Even if you are paying above award, you still need to pay all of the relevant allowances and entitlements. Don’t forget: the minimum pay rates in construction modern awards increased in November.
2 Make sure you are keeping all required records Records and pay slips must comply with the Fair Work Act and Fair Work Regulations.
3
Contact the ABCC for assistance For more information, visit www.abcc.gov.au/contact or call 1800 003 338
Master Plumbers and Mechanical Services Association of Australia T (03) 9329 9622 Master Plumbers Association of Queensland T (07) 3273 0800 Master Plumbers Association of Tasmania T (03) 6272 2199 Master Plumbers & Gasfitters Association of Western Australia T (08) 9471 6661
Master Plumbers Association ACT Inc T (02) 6112 8630 Master Plumbers Association of South Australia T (08) 8292 4000
Master Plumbers & Mechanical Contractors Association of New South Wales T (02) 8789 7000
Understand water stagnation issues
At a time when many buildings are not fully occupied due to COVID-19, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) have developed a guide to help building managers address water system stagnation. When water does not move through the system, water quality issues may arise causing potential health risks. The guide, Responding to Stagnation in Buildings with Reduced or No Water Use, provides a decisionmaking framework for building managers to design responses to building water system stagnation. Peter DeMarco, Executive Vice President of Advocacy and Research at the IAPMO Group, says: “As buildings reopen across the country, it will be critically important for building owners and facility managers to actively address water quality concerns in plumbing systems due to stagnation.” Download the guide, www.awwa.org/Portals/0/AWWA/ Government/ 20201001FrameworkforBuilding ManagersFINALDistCopy.pdf
Responding to Water Stagnation in Buildings with Reduced or No Water Use
A Framework for Building Managers
Victorian news
Yarra Valley Water’s map for plumbers
PipeTracker, a new online asset map designed by Yarra Valley Water, will make it easier for plumbers to get the information they need about water and sewer assets when on the job. PipeTracker is mobile-friendly and has been designed to respond directly to the needs of plumbers, saving them time and eliminating the need for them to call Yarra Valley Water while on site. PipeTracker provides instant and more detailed information about Yarra Valley Water assets compared to the Dial Before You Dig national referral service, which is currently widely used. However, anyone planning to dig
Connections project delivered
The Connections Project – the largest irrigation modernisation project in Australian history – is now complete, delivering 429 gigalitres of annual water savings for environmental use and on farms in Northern Victoria. Funded by the Victorian and Australian Governments, the world-leading delivery system will support the sustainable future of productive agriculture in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District (GMID) for generations to come. The project also provides significant water savings through targeting systems losses, to meet Victoria’s obligations under the Murray Darling Basin Plan without removal of water entitlements from farmers. The water savings target of 429 gigalitres, set by the funding agreement has now been reached, although other minor work will continue on the ground to meet existing commitments and any rectification works. should continue to use the Dial Before You Dig service to obtain information on other buried infrastructure.
To access PipeTracker visit
pipetracker.yvw.com.au
Snapshot from around the nation
Queensland news
Impact of COVID-19 on QLD Plumbers
Master Plumbers Association Queensland has collated a follow up survey to members to understand the impact of eased restrictions on the state in May/June. Key findings:
Forward work
Encouragingly, most responses indicated that ‘work has fallen’ decreased since April. Even more promising is the response that ‘work has increased’ jumped from 1.94% to 13.86%.
Delays on work – construction cites or renovations
While the increase in the number of respondents indicating that they have experienced delay shows that there was an impact on immediate work during the period of restriction, the overall decrease in the percentage of people experiencing delays currently or expecting delays is positive.
Your employees These findings show that in general the workforce in Queensland is doing well with an increase in the percentage of companies whose number of employees has stayed the same and a decrease in the reports of a reduction of staff up to 30%. However, the small increase in businesses reporting a reduction of staff over 31% highlights that, unfortunately, some Queensland plumbing and gas businesses have been heavily impacted by COVID-19. If you would like to see a copy of the full report, call the MPAQ office on 07 3273 0800 or email info@mpaq.com.au
Scam warning: third-party payments
Following a recent surge of reported cases, MPAQ wants to ensure members are on the lookout for possible scams targeting businesses. One of the most common scams we have seen recently is what’s known as the “third-party scam.” The third-party scam involves the fraudster contacting a business owner who’s offering a service – like a plumber – asking to add an additional cost onto the fee for the services and charge it to their credit card. In a recent example from a member, a fraudster (Mr A moving forward) contacted the business asking for a quote on a hot water install-site unseen. Mr A would only communicate over email because they indicated that they were hearing impaired. While an address was provided, Mr A stated that the plumber wouldn’t be able to see the property because they were going into surgery to have their hearing loss repaired. Once a price was provided, Mr A advised that the plumber could gain access to the property on the same day that movers would be there and the movers would hand over the keys to them. Mr A then requested that he pay the plumber an additional $2,000, which would then be given to the movers because the movers don’t accept credit card payments. Where does the fraud take place? In most instances of a third-party scam, the credit card details that are provided are stolen or fraudulently obtained. Usually, once the payment clears and the payment is made to the third party, the fraudster is suddenly uncontactable. In some instances that they request a cash payment to the third party, there may in fact be a third party that comes to pick up the cash but the original contact will disappear. Overall, this means the business is out of pocket the cost of the hot water replacement, the $2,000 additional that was charged to the credit card, AND the $2,000 cash that was handed over to the third party. Add to this the cancelled job that may not be able to be replaced in the schedule, this can be a VERY expensive issue.
Tips to help you safeguard your business Be alert to fraudulent payment activity:
Educate all front-line staff
Ensure employees are the only ones to have access to your payment terminals.
Always refund a transaction to the same card and change your refund password regularly.
Be cautious of customers who wish to correspond via email only
Never accept payments on behalf of third parties.
Trust your instinct – if you have concerns, contact your bank or terminal provider for guidance.
Tasmanian news
Joint submission to the Tasmanian Government
The Master Plumbers Association of Tasmania (MPAT) and the National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) have made a joint submission to the Tasmanian Government to inform the State’s Budget. “Our evolving and dynamic workforce is the cornerstone that connects and maintains essential services and utilities in our homes, businesses and infrastructure, encompassing plumbing, electrical and communications services”, MPAT executive officer Angela Bennett says.
Submission recommendations include:
Introduce a ‘dollar-for-dollar’ grant scheme for households up to $3,000 to undertake electrical, plumbing and gas safety and efficiency upgrades to homes; Introduce a ‘dollar-for-dollar’ grant scheme for businesses up to $5,000 to undertake electrical, plumbing and gas safety and efficiency upgrades to commercial property; Commit to a program of community capacity building within all Local Government Area (LGA). Principally, that local tradespeople are engaged to remediate, improve, and upgrade local buildings and assets; Introduce a Tasmanian
HomeBuilder package to encourage a stronger take-up and greater economic activity of smaller projects;
Unlock and fast-track a pipeline of major infrastructure ‘shovelready’ projects for medium to large businesses to stimulate the economy;
Outline additional funding arrangements for the CPD program;
Extend COVID-19 apprentice wage subsidies and new incentives; – the introduction of a wage subsidy for employers that employ mature age apprentices; – extend apprentice wage subsidies to large business;
Support pre-apprenticeship initiatives; and
Provide apprentice mentoring MPAT will advise members on the outcomes of discussions with the State Government soon.
Fast Facts Water: global risks
Climate change, which impacts through the water cycle, acts as a multiplier of the risks of water scarcity by increasing the variability and unpredictability of water resources (World Health Forum).
3billion
people lack basic handwashing facilities 2.2 billion
people do not have safely managed drinking water services 4.2 billion
