Recent media coverage has shown that consumers worry about the quality of plumbers in South Africa. It is frightening to acknowledge that many so-called plumbers actually don't have qualifications or experience, which tarnishes the reputation of professional plumbers that do. What’s more is that consumers are still being tricked into receiving substandard service from plumbers with a total disregard for plumbing standards. In most cases, the consumer only discovers the faults many years later, which is a concern for health and safety hazards. So how do we, as South Africans, know if the plumber we hire is qualified and registered or not?
In keeping with the proposed new labour regulations, the Water Services Act, and the requirements of local authorities,
ON•TAP together with
IOPSA and other parties commissioned the establishment of the Plumbing Industry Registration Board (
PIRB).
The PIRB has rolled out a comprehensive registration system for all plumbers to sign up for. If your plumber is registered with the PIRB, then you know that his/her performance has been monitored to ensure plumbing practices that protect the health and safety of the community.
With ON•TAP’s experience as a merchant to supply the plumbing industry and IOPSA’s governance of ethics, the PIRB aims to raise the standards of plumbing in the public interest, as well as improve the consensus of plumbers and plumbing in South Africa.
Thanks to this initiative, more metropolitans, local authorities and insurance companies require that only qualified PIRB plumbers are allowed to do plumbing works within their jurisdiction. We urge that all consumers need to be informed about the PIRB so that they can request to see their plumbers PIRB Registration Certificate before proceeding with the job.
