Drive to fill roads jobs in Sutherland before winter bites
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Highland Council currently does not have enough staff to operate its Winter Services Plan in Sutherland, a senior roads official has acknowledged.
Joanne Sutherland, area roads operation manager, said the authority was set to launch a recruitment drive in a bid to fill road worker vacancies in the county.
Ms Sutherland spoke about the staffing difficulties as she presented the 2022/23 Winter Service Plan to Sutherland Area Committee earlier this month.
She said: “We are currently understaffed for winter which is going to be a challenge, but hopefully we have still got some time to recruit from now until winter, which officially starts in October."
Ms Sutherland told councillors she was working with the authority's “talent team and corporate communications” on a recruitment campaign.
Full-time roads workers are needed as well as seasonal staff. There are “quite a number of vacancies”.
The roads manager added that females were “under represented” on the roads team and she would welcome applications from women.
Regarding the winter plan, she told the meeting: “There is no change to previous years. This is what we have been doing since 2018. There is no change, no reduction and no improvement.”
Roads staff will be on shift from 5pm to 9pm during the winter with the aim of treating priority roads (school routes) by 8.30am. There will be no overnight service.
Ms Sutherland also spoke about the “winter resilience package” whereby communities could full in a form, supported by community councils, and apply for grit bins and other equipment.
Asked who was responsible for clearing pavements along the A9, she said that it fell to Bear Scotland.
The meeting approved the winter plan was approved. Cllr Jim McGillivray said: “It is good that there is no reduction but there is no improvement either.”
