Fighting For Subbies Rights
Over the past 8 months I have talked to hundreds of subbies and their wives and partners.
Yesterday upwards of 20, many of them in relation to the most recent builder liquidation which includes a Phoenix operation, one the QBCC has been made fully aware of from SubbiesUnited and many other sources. They knew about it 5 months ago and no action was taken, possibly because no laws were broken at the time, it takes months of planning and pre insolvency advice to set up a rout of subbies money and a successful Phoenix operation. The whole QBCC Act needs a thorough overhaul as a matter of urgency.
During the course of these conversations with these women the message is often "I will tell you this but I wish to remain anonymous" and quite often the call comes from a silent number.
As with all sources of information from individuals, I tell them that we will keep their identity confidential and then I ask why they want to remain anonymous.
The answer is almost always the same.
"This builder has made our life hell, he has made threats, he is intimidating and has cost us work with others builders who are unaware of the type of man he is".
Women are the backbone of the industry
In the vast majority of cases, the subbies wives and partners are the people who run the admin side of a subbies business.
Among a hundred other tasks they;
- do quotes
- take orders
- read contracts
- order material
- schedule work
- pay staff and suppliers
- deal with the ATO
- pay the Super
- and when its all done, they are left to collect the money owed to their business.
They then pick the kids up from school, organise their homework, cook dinner and if they are lucky, get an hour of TV before doing it all again the next day.
They spend long hours on their own in the office or at home while their husband or partner is onsite working hard to install, paint, dig, manufacture, bang in nails, build and do every other aspect of a day in the life of a subcontractor in the building and construction industry.
When a builder is on the brink and is not paying, they lie, baffle and cajole with evasive tactis and when that doesn't work, they become abusive and intimidating to the person on the other end of the phone or in an email trail. That person is more often than not, a woman. They are abused, laughed at and threatened, they are often treated with derision.
These women see the writing on the wall long before their partners who have their head down and arse up working hard and leave it to their partners to do the admin.
One lady emailed me in mid February and told me about a builder who owed them 130k from December invoices for work done interstate and he wasn't paying. She told the builder she would go to the QBCC and lodge a monies owed complaint. The builder ridiculed her efforts when he smugly said "as the work was done interstate, they cannot help you". Unfortunately there is an element of truth in that so this contemptible director knew how to screw the subbie. He thumbed his nose at her and was scornful in an abusive and threatening email trail.
She contacted the QBCC and told them that if they didn't do something fast, this company would go into liquidation and take a lot of subbies with them. They did not act and 5 months after her warning, the company was liquidated this month.
She knew months ago that the writing was on the wall, she got the short shift from the QBCC and was pilloried by the builder for just doing her job. It's a shame he didn't do his job with the same dedication.
She went into a state where she was depressed and anxious and said "I just wanted it all to go away". She was in a dark place with nowhere to turn other than her partner who was also affected by the theft of their hard work.
Another lady who runs her husbands business got similar treatment from this director who is now running his Phoenix with business as usual and there are many more like her. This case is a particularly nasty one with a number of the female creditors telling me the same story and then it hit home.
These women need someone to discuss their fears with and to compare notes.
Some of the creditors of the Phoenix also remain unpaid and say collecting overdue money is to say the least, "challenging".
In a recent liquidation we worked closely with a lady who lived in fear of repercussions and was afraid to go outside at night. She too was deeply affected by the intimidation, the lies, deceit and the injustice of the theft of her and her husband's money they had worked so hard for.
After some time she decided to take a stand, rather than let this unscrupulous bastard intimidate her, she became determined to change the way she felt, her and her husband were the victims here. She got through it to some degree but you can still hear the hurt in her voice. She now helps other women in the same situation to help get them through their tough times.
There is an old saying by William Congreve [1670-1729] and even way back then he must have known about subcontractors wives and partners when he said;
"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned".
That saying over the years has been modernised to say;
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned".
Either way, be scornful when someone is quite rightly attempting to get paid for services rendered and one day you will suffer the consequences, maybe not today or tomorrow but there will be a day of reckoning.
The lesson is that each time a liquidating builder scorns a woman who is just doing her job, he is making an enemy for life and an enemy for all those who decide to follow in his footsteps.
This particular woman has become a tower of strength for SubbiesUnited and other subbies. She is always happy to assist and talk to anyone who needs advice because she has been to hell and back herself. She knows that most of these abusive builders are cowards at heart and are only big men on the end of a phone or in an email.
Women are the backbone of the industry and deserve better. This type of intimidation leads to anxiety and depression which can have a lasting affect on the whole family. They have nowhere to turn as their partners are often unable to constructively help them as they are dealing with their own problems.
Once these women of the industry are freed from the shackles of their fear and anxiety, they are like bloodhounds in their pursuit of justice.
SubbiesUnited is working on a "women only forum" so they can discuss these issues and hopefully, find solace and strength from each others experiences.
To the minority who are shonky builders who read this take note, you will be bought to account for the abuse and intimidation you throw their way.