THE scaffolding industry in Jersey has strongly refuted any suggestion of price fixing or profiteering in the sector.
On Wednesday, the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority wrote an open letter to all scaffolding businesses in the Island “to highlight the need for them to consider their obligations under Jersey’s competition law”.
The JCRA said that while it was not alleging any illegality, it had received information that had “raised concerns regarding pricing”.
It told scaffolders: “We would like to hear if you have any concerns or information regarding past, current or potential anticompetitive behaviour in Jersey.”
The letter also explained how a cartel acts and how ‘fair competition’ is defined.
Any suggestion that we set prices is an absolute load of rubbish and I have no idea why the regulator thinks that
Lee Camfield, C&M Scaffolding
Speaking to the JEP in response to the letter, the industry said it was highly competitive, striving to improve standards, and facing many rising costs, including labour and freight.
Lee Camfield, co-owner of C&M Scaffolding, said: “Any suggestion that we set prices is an absolute load of rubbish and I have no idea why the regulator thinks that.
“We are just like any other market: it is highly competitive and the customer chooses the best quote before them. I actually feel a bit embarrassed for the JCRA because they are so wide of the mark on this one.”
He added: “The larger firms are are all members of the Jersey Association of Scaffold Contractors, which we have to be to get contracts from the likes of Andium Homes. Far from being a cartel, it ensures all businesses meet the highest standard of training, safety, and policies in place.”
Alex Wareham, managing director of A&A Scaffolding Solutions, said: “If the regulator thinks we all gather at a pub one evening to fix prices, they couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Someone, for some reason, seems to have a bee in their bonnet and is stirring things up. This will be damaging for the industry at a time when we’re making lots of positive changes: we have been engaging with the Health & Safety Executive and having conversations with Highlands College.”
He added: “I appreciate that the industry once had a reputation of being staffed by ex-cons and drunks but those days are long gone; this a competitive industry that only comes together to make it a better one for the customer.”
Kelly Keating, director of the same business, added: “Everyone is entitled to get a free quote from any number of firms. We have 200 jobs on the go so do you think we’d have time to fix a price?
“We know how to price a job: we’ll look at all sorts of factors such as site restrictions, access and the manpower required. And from that we’ll price per square metre.”
Ms Keating said that costs for the industry had increased considerably while scaffold pricing had remained low for a long time.
“We have a lot of costs: lorries to maintain, a yard to pay for and we’re usually the last to be paid.
“…Wage costs have also doubled, which is why we are developing new training courses to entice people into the industry. The average age of someone in construction is 56 so we need to create a career path and train people to UK-recognised standards.”
Ms Keating also addressed directly a property manager’s suggestion, as reported in the JEP yesterday, that some scaffold companies had capitalised on the increased demand after Storm Ciarán in November 2023.
Referencing a job quote for £650,000 for apartments along Greve d’Azette, which was mentioned in the article, Ms Keating said: “That was the biggest temporary roof in Jersey. It was impossible to get a crane in so, from the sixth floor upwards, everything had to be manually lifted up. Our staff worked six days a week for three months on that particular job.
“After Storm Ciarán, our team worked seven days a week for more than a year, and we actually flew them over to Liverpool when things settled down as a thank you for their hard work.”
