It does not work because people in the council do not have liability with their jobs, they are more like pen pushers instead of taking responsibility for their job unlike people who work in factories. Hence they are never measured on how well they are doing in their job.
The only way it will work if the council are forced to take ownership and liability with their job and have to hit their required targets. For example if they were measured to hit 85% of window cleaners to be licensed then it would work.
But the biggest part is trying to get them to take ownership, and the only way to do that is to get high ranking backup within local government and other powerful organisations. This the SLWCN has already got some powerful backers but will not get involved as the SLWCN have been asked to liase with the councils. The council are ware of this and are slowly responding.
To give you an idea as to how slack they are they feel that there is no issue with unlicensed window cleaners, the you state the obvious how come 60% of window cleaners that advertsie are unlicensed. Oops the penny has dropped but it is not up to the SLWCN to resolve this, it is up to the councils.
If this is resolved then each window cleaner will have the same overheads and then will start running their job as a business and not having to worry about the unlicensed window cleaner coming in and undercutting them. We will all then be able to make a decent living out of window cleaning.
If you get public support behind you then you are onto a winner, this will be coming soon in local newspapers. So unlicensed window cleaners will have to start get their licenses otherwise they could find customers dropping them.
But this is not all we are fighting for licensed window cleaners but to have a fiarer licensing system for example a National licence.
We all know why prices are too low in some areas, if the SLWCN can increase them for window cleaners to earn a good wage then it will be a job well done.
I would like to know your veiws on what would be a good system for window cleaners.
Doug
http://www.slwcn.org/