Roads Service suffering acute staffing crisis as low-pay undermines recruitment and retention

Unite the UK’s leading union has blamed a huge increase in potholes in Northern Ireland on chronic under investment in the Roads Service.

Statistics unveiled today have revealed that potholes reported by members of the public have increased year on year over the last eight years. Rising from 3,206 reported in 2015 to 25,067 in 2023 – an increase of 780 per cent over the period. 

Unite the union members working in the Roads Service are currently in dispute in pursuit of a pay increase. Roads service workers took a week of strike action over pay last week. Employers’ imposed a pay increase worth between 1.65 and 2.3 per cent in 2022-2023 and are still to commence negotiations for the 2023-2024 financial year. 

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “A huge increase in the number of potholes exposes the extent and impact of the long-term underfunding of roads maintenance,. Roads workers have been left with no alternative but to take industrial action due to chronic low rates of pay.”

“Underinvestment is putting people at risk and subjecting Unite members to pay poverty. There must be no further delay in proper investment in Northern Ireland’s roads service.”

Regional officer Gareth Scott said. “The staffing crisis which has resulted from low pay, leaves fewer workers to maintain roads which are being exposed to more extreme weather events and heavier and heavier vehicles. The current situation is entirely unsustainable.”