[Davie T]

I am correct in asking why a topic started by a Cleanitup God has been "Locked" by the same person?

Is this in the interests of all concerned ( free speech etc as mentioned in the final post) or is my take on this totally wrong. 
If my take is wrong I will duly apologise!

[mikethechamois]

it should never hve been locked , it wasnt against the rules of the forum

it could have been a popular thread with a lot of different views being put forward

da could have used those views from the rest of the uk to strengthen his case against the authorities

its likely that they will try and roll this out across the uk some time in the future

its in our best interest to get the system that we want now rather than trying to get it changed later

scottish wcs are not a seperate breed they are uk wcs like the rest of us and we need to stick together

[DASERVICES]

Hi Davie,

Yes sorry locked the topic as did not want to be accused for lining Councils pockets which I am truly not. This is far from the truth as what we have been doing is forcing the Councils to do their job correctly and I am not very popular with some of the staff as we have formal complaints.

For the Scottish lads we have to look at the big picture. Licensing itself will not go away nor will it change to a National license. This has been looked into so we now need to work with the Councils and force them to be accountable to us the license holder.

One of the key elements I have stressed at meetings is the public do not know or do not care about licensed window cleaners. The Councils have to look into changing that so the public respect us as a trade.

All ideas on licensing are welcome within what can be actually changed. For example we are pushing for each Council to have a 1yr and 3yr license as some only operate a 3yr license.

Then those who employ staff a gateway to the licensing officer asking if this new employee that we want to take on there will be no objections raised. As you know if you employ someone and he is refused a license you are not refunded. This I totally object to.

A temp license to be issued for 2 months etc.. costing around £10 so you know if the person you have taken on is worth applying for a full license.

On the Council / Police side they need to enforce / publicise the license continiously not one off. This needs to be done through KPI's in lay mans terms that have to reach a target from example 300 window cleaners checked a year etc...

They should be acountable to us as a trade and not we just pay a fee and get nothing in return.

What you have to realise that I cannot just turn up and say there is a huge problem in our industry without any evidence as they would not entertain the SLWCN. How we have turned the corner is with detailed reports which they then have to act upon it. They have no choice but to act on it, if they do not as a department then they could be in big trouble as there is a complaints proceedure.

I have several meetings with Councils these coming months which invites have been sent out to SLWCN members where all bodies will sit down together and discuss the problems we as window cleaners face. It will not be a slanging match but trying to agree points that will benefit us as a trade.

What we as window cleaners also have to recognise we have a part to play so we all have to work together. I am open to any ideas but we cannot change the law.

What we need is a uniformed licensing system in all Councils. We cannot be seen as anti Council, we have to make this work as there are hundreds on licensed window cleaners who cannot survive in this climate. Fair do's some people hate Councils and yes I have come accross a lot that do not have a clue but cannot tar all with the same brush as there are some who are very good at their job.

If we can take the anti Council hats off and say this is how we would like licensing to be run we can achieve it within the law. It is law that window cleaners are required to be licensed passed by the Scottish Government. Councils do not make laws.

In summary licenses are here to stay , one license per Council so feel free to express what system you would like to see.

Hope I have explained it a bit more. First meeting is with East Ayrshire.

Cheers

Doug

[mikethechamois]

hi doug

the thread should not have been locked

if the poster had been offensive then he should have been reported to the moderators

as it was he had misunderstood your role and was expressing an opinion based on that

[williamx]

Doug

Firstly any Law that the Scottish or Uk paliment bring out can be removed, take the Poll Tax as an example, it was unpopular by the majority of the country and its was scrapped.

Next, by you making the councils attually work for the money for once, will only leave the cost of the licence fees being raised to cover their extra costs in enforcing them.

At the moment window cleaners in Scotland pay about £80 per year on average for 1 licence, what will they say to you and the SLWCN when they now have to pay £100 or £200 per licence, and with some having to have upto 7 licences, its one hell of a bill, especially if they have to pay for 3 years upfront.

[DASERVICES]

No because it should bring it down and we will fight for it. I am pushing for some Councils to reduce their fees but that is one big task.

Yes laws can be changed but the legal process can take years but the problem we face the law is linked to Taxi drivers etc.. So if we say we want it changed to suit window cleaners the biggest objection will the the licensing trade , taxi drivers etc..

The licensing trade are up in arms with the huge hike in fees supposidly to cover the enforcement officers, they are taking offense as they feel all of the Civc Act trades should be put up to cover their trade. This we will oppose if it did come to that.

[DASERVICES]

Right I'm off now as I have a night out. Booze, curry, booze

Thinks I derserve it with a house full of PMT women, why did I have so many. Must have been the booze.

Nice talking lads.

Cheers

Doug