Plastering is ‘dying trade’

Press, 28 March 1979, Page 25

Plastering is ‘dying trade’

The plastering trade is in danger of extinction within 10 years, according to the secretary of the Solid Plasterers’ Federation (Mr G. D. Wright). Speaking from Dunedin, Mr Wright said that much of the blame could be laid with the shortage of apprentices to replace ageing tradesmen. Of the plasterers listed in business directories and the Yellow Pages of telephone directories two years ago, only half were still in business. However, plasterers had also failed to organise themselves and to promote their skills, Mr Wright said. The flood of advertising of “new and improved” alternative coatings had also reduced the indigenous market. The indigenous product was Jess energy-intensive

than the new products, and did not require the imports demanded by the new product. Architects and Government departments had failed to understand and specify correctly the New Zealand standards specifications. But there was also a failure to ensure that “respectable” tradesmen handled plastering jobs, Mr Wright said. He had heard of a person asking a “respectable” tradesman for a quote on a job, and then shopping around until he found an unqualified plasterer to do the job at a lower cost. The Solid Plasterers' Federation had been set up to protect the trade. It would hold a symposium in Christchurch on April 2.