Scandal in the building industry

The local building industry has been rocked this week by a third set of allegations relating to a prominent local builder.

According to an affidavit, obtained by this reporter, it is alleged that Robert Fitzwilliam Thistlethwaite – operating under the trading name “Bob the Builder” has been overcharging and over-servicing local primary producers. The allegations have been made by one Farmer Pickles who claims that Bob is “over at his place every other day, fixing something that he claims needs urgent attention.”

Certainly Mr Thistlethwaite appears to have come into some money in recent times with the lean-to sheds that were a local landmark for so long replaced by a set of fine new sheds with structural integrity and power doors. He has also taken on new staff to supplement the original team of four psychologically disturbed machines.

This latest development is bad news for the reputation of Bob the Builder as it comes on the back of other allegations of “over servicing”, in that case of one Mrs Potts. The word around town is the Bob was at Mrs Potts’ place almost as frequently as he is supposed to have been down at the farm. In that case, though, it seems that Mrs Potts was a willing participant in the services rendered with the appointments book at Bob’s yard noting calls for urgent attention from Bob as many as three times per week.

It is unclear to the authorities if the allegations are to be taken seriously or are vexatious complaints made by Bob’s one time business partner and rumoured paramour, Wendy.  It had been believed for some time that Wendy, whose surname has been suppressed by the courts, was only a business associate of Bob, but recent comments made on Wendy’s blog to the effect “he might have an oversized spanner in his pants but that’s about all” suggest that the relationship may have been more intimate than first thought; Wendy may be a woman scorned.

Notwithstanding any personal animosity in the matter, Bob will still have to appear in court on Thursday next to answer another set of charges relating to workplace health and safety and breaches of immigration regulations. According to a statement of claim laid before the court, inspectors from the Builders Licensing Board visited a number of Bob’s worksites over the last few years and cited him for a range of breaches:

Riding unsecured on machines from job to job, apparently dangling one handed from the side of earth moving machinery;

Employing flammable labour in the form of a scarecrow called Spud;

Failing to provide a healthy working environment and tolerating bullying.

This last allegation follows a psychiatric assessment of Lofty whose chronic anxiety disorder, it is claimed, arose from working with Muck and Rolly who have thuggish, bullying personalities and Dizzy whose manic tendencies have exacerbated Lofty’s existing frailties.

Questions have also been raised about Dmitry the Dropsaw and Olga the Orbital Sander who, it is claimed, are illegal immigrants from Eastern Europe who have been working on Bob’s sites and being paid under award rates while not being covered by worker’s compensation insurance.

The outcomes of the court matters may, in the end, prove irrelevant as local businesses seek to take their custom to an establishment less mired in scandal.