- Depots in Kalgoorlie, Leonora and Esperance
- 23 external contractors have transitioned to direct employment with Main Roads
- Three new positions have been created
- Road workers will receive better pay, conditions and additional training and career opportunities
The Goldfields-Esperance region is the latest to benefit from the Cook Government's policy ofbringing road maintenance and minor capital works back in-house, with 26 new andtransitioning employees making the move to Main Roads today.
First announced in April 2022, the return of road maintenance jobs will see a total of 660 new and transitioned Main Roads jobs filled across Western Australia, helping to increasecapability, capacity and economic sustainability in our regions.
Twenty-three employees have joined Main Roads from existing contractors, while threepositions have been newly created. They join 48 employees who were welcomed to the Wheatbelt region in October last year and 50 employees welcomed to the Mid West-Gascoyne region in November last year.
The workers will be based across Main Roads' Office and Depot in Kalgoorlie, with some staff also expected to be based in Esperance.
Road maintenance and minor capital works operations will be brought in-house progressively across the State as contracts conclude.
The Perth Metropolitan Area will also transition on 13 October, followed by the Pilbara regionon 2 November and the South West region, Great Southern region and Incident Response Service in February 2024. The Kimberley region will be the last to transition in November 2024.
As stated by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti:
"It's brilliant to see another region transitioning its maintenance and minor capital works operations back to Main Roads.
"Bringing road maintenance in-house was an important decision that will not only improve the skills, capacity and capabilities across Western Australia, but it will also help to ensure the viability of local communities and economies by keeping jobs in our regional towns and cities.
"Having our road maintenance crews based in our regional towns and cities will ensure that during times of emergency and when works are required urgently, we have people on the ground that can respond immediately.
"Importantly, these road workers will also be better off with increased pay and improved conditions, as well as additional training and career opportunities."
As stated by Kalgoorlie MLA Ali Kent:
"It's fantastic to see road maintenance returning to Main Roads in the Goldfields-Esperance region.
"This policy position will deliver great outcomes by growing our road maintenance capacity locally and ensuring these jobs are based in our region, not brought in by external contractors as works are required.
"Having the road maintenance crews based here with Main Roads also means that when urgent road works are required, we can respond quickly to minimise impacts and disruption."
