It’s heavy work to fill municipal equipment operator jobs

General labour shortages play into the difficulty in filling municipal positions, and one prime area is in public works departments.

The subject came up lately at both Grey Highlands and Southgate councils.

During one of the Grey Highlands Committee of the Whole budget meetings, a councillor asked if it was possible to raise just one position on the wage and salary grid.

CAO Karen Govan responded by assuring council that members can talk in general about staff positions in open sessions, as long as no individuals could be identified.

She then commented about the challenges of hiring snowplow drivers.

Coun. Dan Wickens commented that the township was competing for equipment operators with private companies.

Pay would be higher, he said. Workers could expect about $38/hr. in a non-union setting and $48 if there’s a union, he said – and those jobs don’t require weekends and 3 a.m. starts.

“I’ve plowed snow,” he added. “It’s a terrible job, responsibilities are huge.”

The CAO responded that the burden of responsibility is huge for water treatment workers as well, and management positions have their own pressure and responsibilities.

She said that job descriptions are evaluated on a number of grounds, such as skills required, stress and job market.

The wage and salary grid recommended moving the position up one pay band, the CAO said. Also, the pay in each band will go up when the new wage grid is put in place, she said, adding that there is the annual COLA increase as well.

The Township of Southgate, Grey Highlands’ neighbour to the south, talked about a related subject, when a letter was received from the Association of Ontario Road Supervisors (AORS).

AORS wrote a letter to all municipalities asking them to lobby the province to fully fund its developing a Municipal Equipment Operator course.

Coun. Barbara Dobreen asked Southgate Public Works Manager his opinion.

“We believe there is great value in adding our voice to raising awareness,” Jim Ellis replied.

The AORS letter talked about the labour shortage affecting municipalities across Ontario, and Mr. Ellis reinforced that’s true locally as well.

He thinks the opportunity for young people to train could help, saying that many colleges and other training for heavy equipment tend to funnel people through to construction. The same letter was to be on the Grey Highlands agenda on Feb. 7.

M.T. Fernandes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Flesherton Advance