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Germany dusts off chimney sweeping job

Published: 1 Jan 13 07:12 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/lifestyle/20130101-47067.html

For the first time in decades, Germany's chimney sweeps will face broad-brushed changes to their fabled profession in 2013. AFP's Deborah Cole reports.

Norbert Skrobek, a rosy-cheeked German in a brass-buttoned jacket and black top hat, is the picture of good cheer on a blustery winter morning on a rooftop in Berlin.

But the new year will be bringing big changes to his tradition-steeped trade, as Germany overhauls the chimney sweeping market after years of resistance against pressure from Brussels.

Germany has since 1935 maintained a rigid monopoly of sorts for the snappily attired men of the order -- and the vast majority are still male -- when the Nazi regime set up a national network of district "master" chimney sweeps.

They will from January 1 face competition from roving entrepreneurs who can negotiate their own prices.

"It's not all bad -- clients will be able to decide who they want as a chimney sweep, and we for the first time will also have a choice," said Skrobek, 52, who also employs his adult son and two apprentices.

"Clients who haven't paid for two years or three -- now I can say I don't need to work there anymore. That's a plus."

The change in policy brings Germany in line with an EU directive liberalising the services sector.

Germany's roughly 8,000 chimney sweeps are hired not only to climb roofs and
scrub away soot with their coiled-wire brushes, but also to inspect heating systems for fire hazards and poisonous carbon monoxide leaks. They also monitor pollution levels and energy efficiency.

Under the new rules, chimney cleaning and measuring of gas emissions can be carried out by licenced free contractors.

Hopes that competition will drive down prices, however, look dubious because contractors will likely have to travel greater distances to the job and advertise their services to stand out from the crowd, boosting their expenses.

Anticipating the changes, Skrobek moved his offices to a prominent spot in the lively Kreuzberg district and decorated his shop window with images of the iconic chimney sweep.

"We didn't have to make publicity for ourselves before -- our status is still like a civil servant's," he said.

Dream job

Skrobek has been in the business since 1977, when he was just 17.

"It was always my dream job -- even as a boy in school I thought it was pretty romantic" working above the treetops with breathtaking views over the city, he said.

A friendly man with a distinct twinkle in his eye, he said he loved delighting children in his spiffing uniform and handing out chimney sweep soft toys in a time-honoured custom.

Sweeps are traditionally thought to bring good luck, in large part because before their trade was widespread in Europe, thousands died every year in house fires attributed to faulty chimneys, fireplaces or heating ovens.

The districts were established under the Third Reich and historical records show the Nazis pressured chimney sweeps to use their unique access to homes to spy on fellow Germans. The practice continued in communist East Germany but Skrobek insists chimney sweeps are now trusted members of the community.

According to the Federal Association of Master Chimney Sweeps, Germany has the fewest number of injuries due to fire or carbon monoxide poisoning in the EU. It said its members uncover 1.5 million hazardous defects per year.

They also carry out energy checks to determine heat loss from flue gas, a component of government plans to reduce CO2 emissions.

Skrobek said many sweeps took a kind of holistic approach and addressed whatever problems they might come across under the flat rate they received.

With the smashing of the monopoly, he said, homeowners will have to be better informed about what needs to be done and what it should cost. In addition, he warned, private companies will frequently be affiliated with specific manufacturers and thus less straightforward in advising clients.

"I hope we don't come under so much pressure that we lose our neutrality because that's our most valuable asset -- people trust us," he said.

Skrobek currently pulls down €150,000 ($198,000) per year for his district duties and pays his employees' wages and benefits out of that sum.

The market already opened a crack in 2009, when Germany was forced to allow in sweeps from other EU countries. But low statutory prices made the move unappealing to most foreign firms.

In addition, the wages of district chimney sweeps are generally set down in regional rates so that little flexibility is possible, despite complaints by consumer advocates.

"The chimney sweeps have no say in the fees for their statutory work because there is an official price list," the guild master for Berlin, Heiko Kirmis, explained.

"For these jobs, chimney sweeps will try to maintain the old prices for as long as possible."

AFP/mry

What do you think? Leave your comment below.


Your comments about this article:

11:19 January 1, 2013 by lucksi
The only use I can see in another chimney sweeper other than the normal guy, is when your boiler doesn't pass the emission check, so you pay some shady guy who passes it...
13:45 January 1, 2013 by jg.
@lucksi Under the current monopoly, someone who I didn't choose can come to my house at a time of their choosing, spend 3 minutes inspecting the CO output of my gas boiler and then send me an invoice for whatever sum they like (typically around 50 Euros). In future, I will be able to ask the price in advance and fix a date and time convenient to me, before choosing someone to perform this check.
14:07 January 1, 2013 by ChrisRea
@ jg.

Don't get too excited. It will not be a strong competition on this market. Who do you expect to replace the current chimney sweeper? Accession to profession is not easy at all. So there will not be much change about the price (including not setting a fix price beforehand, as the fee will be assessed depending on the work needing to be done). And if you will not find another chimney sweeper, the Ordnungsamt will probably assign the regular one to do the work. He will also be the one in charge to check your installation every three years, disregarding on who does the regular cleaning. So, as an old saying states, it is a long way until far away.

However, the change is good. It forces inspections on people who did not allow them. Collection of fees from bad payers is also made easier.
14:41 January 1, 2013 by Berlin fuer alles
At least it is a step in the right direction with another German dinosaur monopoly being confined to the history books. Well eventually anyway. Now to do something about the biggest dinosaur of them all. GEMA
19:30 January 1, 2013 by raandy
Will the scabs bring "good luck"
07:05 January 2, 2013 by RainerL
Boy! And I though Chimney Sweepers such as this Fellow in the Photo where a thing of the past. Amazing!!
10:00 January 2, 2013 by jg.
@ChrisRea The obvious cost saving solution would be to have the CO check performed by the same heating engineers who maintain the gas boiler. They have a wider skill set than the chimney sweep and already perform all the other safety checks.
06:02 January 3, 2013 by HariboFTW
"Bezirksschornsteinfegermeister" is a truly awesome German word, just sayin'
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