Sacked CEO scaremongering - ERA told

Claims that hundreds of potentially fatal gas installations may have occurred around the country are merely "scaremongering" by a sacked chief executive fighting to regain his job, says the association representing certified gasfitters.

Sacked chief executive of the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board Philip Routhan told the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) yesterday that he feared someone would be killed because of uncertified and illegal gas installations dating back to 2005.

He also accused board chair Hazel Armstrong of asking him to deceive Building Minister Maurice Williamson over the problem last year - a statement she "completely and utterly" rejected today.

Master Plumbers chief executive Fiona Gavriel said while there had been a problem with a single gasfitter and lack of checks by the PGD board, a working group had quickly responded and dealt with the issue last year.

"What is very surprising is that Mr Routhan raises this when in fact he was, of course, CEO at the time," she said.

Mr Routhan said a single gasfitter bought nearly 600 certificates last year when there were no systems in place at the board to ensure the work had been safely carried out. While this was true, Ms Gavriel said a working group made up of the PDG board, Master Plumbers and gas suppliers found just three per cent - 16 cases - were found to be non-compliant and were remedied.

"This issue, from our perspective, has been dealt with."

She said although there were nearly 200 certificates still missing, investigations established they were not likely to have been used.

Ms Gavriel said since Mr Routhan left, the board had tightened its checks, tracking the sale of certificates and limiting the number issued.

She said the board's communication with the industry had improved since the "not popular" Mr Routhan left, and "practitioners would be concerned to see the clock roll back".

"What is of concern, is that this issue is now being raised and we would hate to think that it is scaremongering, because this particular issue around this one gasfitter has been dealt with, from our perspective."

She said people would be anxious reading about Mr Routhan's claims, but in fact it was a very safe industry with two regulating bodies and few incidents.

Mr Routhan also told the ERA that when he briefed PGD chair Ms Armstrong about the problems last year ahead of a meeting with Mr Williamson, she told him "not to drop me in the sh**".

Ms Armstrong said today she "completely and utterly refutes" the allegations, and attacked Mr Routhan for lying to the Auditor General over the checking process and creating a climate of "fear, intimidation and bullying" at the board during his reign as chief executive, which ended last December when he was accused of taking thousands of documents from the board offices.

He told the ERA yesterday the documents proved his claims that 572 certificates had been requested by an uncertified gasfitter, but only 290 returned. Another 44 installations had been made by an uncertified person, including 33 deemed "high risk."

The gasfitter was investigated by police for signing the safety certificates then selling them to a group of unqualified tradespeople who carried out work in Auckland and Northland. Police did not lay charges, blaming a loophole in the PDG board's processes.

- NZPA