SEWERAGE AND DRAINAGE (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Minister of State for the Environment (Dr Balaji Sadasivan): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, currently, plumbers who are registered with PUB are allowed to carry out plumbing works. There are two types of plumbers, namely, sanitary plumbers and water service plumbers. Sanitary plumbers carry out sanitary works, such as the installation of sanitary fittings in toilets and laying of sanitary pipe work, while water service plumbers carry out plumbing works for the supply of drinking water. Both sanitary and water service plumbers are regulated by PUB.

The Sewerage and Drainage (Amendment) Bill seeks to abolish the registration of sanitary plumbers. This deregulation, however, applies only to sanitary plumbers. Water service plumbers will continue to be regulated by PUB.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the registration scheme for sanitary plumbers was started in 1976. The scheme was introduced to build up a pool of experienced and qualified sanitary plumbers. Today, there are about 550 sanitary plumbers registered with PUB. To qualify for registration, they must pass the relevant skills courses conducted by the Construction Industry Training Institute and the Institute of Technical Education. However, not all sanitary works require the skills of a fully qualified plumber to do the job. There are two aspects of works carried out by registered sanitary plumbers. One is to carry out minor sanitary works, such as changing and relocating toilet bowls. The other is the construction of the sanitary pipe work in new buildings and developments.

Sir, minor sanitary works are not difficult in nature. A normal renovation contractor will have the skills to do a good job. But, currently, a renovation contractor cannot undertake any sanitary work unless he possesses the full qualifications and is registered with PUB. This has resulted in a protected market for the qualified sanitary plumbers even for works that are relatively simple and straightforward. Abolishing the registration of sanitary plumbers will open up the market for other contractors to undertake minor sanitary works and lower the cost of such services.

As for the construction of sanitary pipe work in new buildings and developments, the Sewerage and Drainage Act has a provision to require the developer to engage a qualified architect or engineer to be responsible for the proper design and construction of the sanitary works. This aspect of sanitary works will continue to be regulated by PUB which will continue to conduct checks on completed sanitary works. This provision is sufficient to ensure the sanitary facilities in new buildings and developments are properly installed. There is therefore no need for PUB to continue with the registration scheme for sanitary plumbers.

However, PUB has been in discussion with the Singapore Plumbing Society (SPS) on its proposed deregulation of registered sanitary plumber scheme. SPS has indicated that it will put up an accreditation scheme for qualified sanitary plumbers. This would allow qualified sanitary plumbers to be recognised and engaged for more complex sanitary piping work required for new buildings and developments. SPS will encourage existing registered sanitary plumbers to become its members. It will also take steps to promote and market their plumbers to serve the public and work with the training institutes to continue to upgrade the skills of the sanitary plumbers.

Mr Speaker, Sir, let me now move on to the main provisions in this Bill. The main provision of the Bill is clause 6. It repeals sections 36 and 37, and removes the requirement for registration of sanitary plumbers, hence, opening up sanitary work to other contractors.

The other clauses make consequent and minor changes to the Act to effect the deregulation of the Registered Sanitary Plumbers Scheme. The deregulation will benefit house owners and developers, as they will not be restricted to engaging only registered sanitary plumbers to carry out sanitary works. The deregulation will give house owners and developers a wider choice of contractors or plumbers. This will result in lower cost for them to carry out sanitary works.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

Mr Andy Gan Lai Chiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the proposed amendment to remove the need to register plumbers. May I add that this is long overdue.

Sanitary plumbers have been defined just now. I am glad that the definition was clarified. They are neither involved in the design of plumbing systems, including gas, water or sanitary systems, nor in certifying work done. In most cases, architects and engineers are responsible for the design of these systems and, ultimately, responsible for the completed jobs.

Sir, doing away with having to pay for a licensed plumber would save cost for property owners, especially private property owners. However, the concern would be the flooding of the market by untrained persons claiming to be qualified plumbers. This will disadvantage the genuine tradesmen and put the public at risk. To further safeguard the interests of the public, the trade should be encouraged to implement self-checks from within itself, to ensure quality work provided. This can be done through the setting up of trade associations. For example, the Singapore Plumbing Society, established since 1959, with members in the plumbing trade, can be encouraged to provide training opportunities to continuously upgrade members of the plumbing trade. Such a set-up would also serve as a forum to keep existing tradesmen abreast of new products and new skills. The training programmes can be conducted jointly with the Construction Industry Development Board or the Institute of Technical Education, and I am glad the Minister has also mentioned that there will be courses to train new plumbers.

The Society can also be tasked to register plumbers who abide by their codes of ethics. More emphasis should be placed on plumbers who are qualified members of such an association. Only these should be allowed to practise.

Dr Balaji Sadasivan: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Singapore Plumbing Society is in support of this Bill. My Ministry has consulted them. SPS will set up an accreditation scheme similar to the current PUB registration scheme. The existing registered plumbers will be invited to join SPS and be included in the accreditation scheme. For new applicants, SPS will set up a committee to select candidates, conduct oral examinations, issue certificates and maintain a register of sanitary plumbers. SPS will use the same qualification requirements to accredit its sanitary plumbers.

After the deregulation, SPS will post a list of its plumbers on the website. Members of the public who want to engage the services of a plumber can visit the SPS website.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Dr Balaji Sadasivan].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.