Lochaber slumps to joint bottom of monthly earnings league

Continued from page 1. and Lochalsh employees on £1,833 per month, it means local workers are receiving -9.8 per cent below the average.

The areas with the highest earnings were, unsurprisingly, Edinburgh City on £2,171, which was +6.8 per cent above the average, closely followed by Shetland on £2,164, which is +6.5 per cent above the average. It means there is therefore a 15 per cent difference between the highest and lowest earnings areas. The report also estimates that average earnings in Scotland increased by +4.7 per cent in the year to November 2021. The Highlands and Islands annual increase was also slightly lower at +4.5 per cent. The estimated annual increases in monthly pay for Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, was estimated at +5.0 per cent.

Reacting to the figures, Councillor Allan Henderson (Caol and Mallaig) told us he had been aware of this disparity in the Highlands, and in particular Lochaber and Skye, due to work he had done with the Inshore Fishermen’s Group some years ago.

‘Covid is not necessarily the sole cause but it highlights the problems as it did when lockdown came. It is difficult to attract bigger paying jobs to the area with the lack of sustainable connectivity,’ he explained.

‘With many subsistence crofts depending on summer tourism which was virtually wiped out last year, it is not surprising to see these figures. Unprecedented increases in welfare support cases with Highland Council certainly back up this data.’

And Frazer Coupland, CEO of Lochaber Chamber of Commerce, added: ‘Fair work, living wages, real living wages and real-life competition: that is what drives businesses to pay their employees and we now see businesses offering enhanced working conditions [not just wages] to attract and retain high-calibre staff.

‘Lochaber Chamber encouraged businesses to achieve the best possible pay and conditions for our workers – a high-wage economy creates a thriving economy and community. That’s why we fully support the Scottish Business Pledge and we’re a fair work employer.

‘Across the board, we are hearing of increasing wage rates, so we would expect and look forward to seeing wages in Lochaber continue to increase. But it’s about more than money – it’s housing, it’s infrastructure, it’s about the whole package, and this can only be achieved through public and private sector collaboration.’