PrintNZ is working to help New Zealand print businesses get back to work when the country moves back to Level Three next week.
Ruth Cobb, chief executive of PrintNZ, says, “It is great news that New Zealand will move to Alert Level Three on Tuesday April 28. That should see the return to work for all the businesses in our industry.”
She says the focus moves from “essential” businesses to “safe” businesses and this has been emphasised by the lead agency for compliance moving from MBIE to Worksafe. She adds, “Contrary to what was initially said, there will be no self-accreditation online registration process. It will be up to each business to have in place a plan to ensure that they can keep their workers safe and minimise any chance of transmission of Covid-19 in the workplace and beyond.
Cobb is currently working on Printing Protocols for the Industry, as well as a sample of a site based plan and forms that print companies will need to have in place to ensure they comply. She will circulate these as soon as they are finalised.
All staff and contractors will need a Level Three Covid-19 induction when they return to work so they understand what is required.
The key areas that need to be covered are:
- Hygiene
- Physical distancing
- Contact tracing
- Worker engagement (including contractors)
- Contact-less engagement for deliveries/despatch
- Monitoring
She continues, “Nothing print businesses put in place for Covid-19 should compromise any existing health and safety protocols that they have in the workplace.
“They can go to the workplace between now and then in order to ready the workplace for business on Tuesday. That may include cleaning, receiving of deliveries to allow production, preparation of machines etc, but they still can’t do any non-essential work.
“It is vital that everyone takes this seriously. If a confirmed case results in a cluster in a business, Worksafe will not hesitate to shut down that business, and potentially the industry. There also remains the potential for the prime minister to push New Zealand back to Level Four, which nobody wants to see.”
