Most printing and signage companies reopened for business on Tuesday as 400,000 New Zealand workers returned to work under more relaxed Alert Level 3 lockdown restrictions.
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| A billboard created by Auckland University of Technology students. thanking New Zealand’s essential workers. HuttValleyDHB/Twitter |
“As most of us return to work under Alert Level 3, there are increased health and safety obligations that must be met by an employer,” the NZ Sign & Display Association told its members in an Alert Level 3 checklist.
“A lot of preparation has been required to enable all businesses to have safe business practices in place. This is good news for our industry and hopefully you are already taking orders online or by phone, assisting businesses to get ready and ensuring they have what they need for Health and Safety signage. This means that signage must be displayed and erected for all businesses.
“Under alert level 3 all businesses that are permitted to resume operations need to have a COVID-19 safety plan that sets out how they’ll operate safely. This plan needs to be shared amongst workers, and the plan needs to involve assessing risks and identifying solutions. For more information on what your plan should include see here.
“An employer must also meet their employment obligations, which includes complying with agreements, policies and employment standards as well as acting in good faith and enabling honest and open communication with employees.”
No sign installation of any type has been permitted in New Zealand until after the lifting of level four restrictions at midnight on Monday.
Under government level 3 guidelines, workplaces must operate safely:
- maintain physical distance between workers, recording who is working together, limiting interaction between groups of workers, disinfecting surfaces, and maintaining high hygiene standards;
- businesses cannot offer services which involve face-to-face contact or sustained close contact;
- home services can be delivered if it is safe to do so (like tradespeople for repairs or installations) – keep two metre separation from those in the house;
- most workers will not require PPE to stay safe at work.
More NZ govt. worksafe alert level three information here.
PrintNZ GM Ruth Cobb said in an advisory update that its members would be “raring to go” back to work.
COVID-19 ALERT LEVEL 3 - A COUPLE OF POINTERS
Welcome back to work today for many of you. Just a couple of quick pointers to be aware of:
1. Health officials are warning if your building has been closed for 5 weeks, flush your pipes out. Water left in pipes can change in quality so it’s important to replace old water with fresh water, particularly in your canteen/kitchen areas, or where staff are accessing water to drink.Turn on all taps and flush toilets until the water is clear.
2. Alert Level 3 is about safe workplaces and both Worksafe and the Police will be making spot checks and responding to complaints. Make sure you have your policies in place, posters displayed and that your staff understand the absolute importance of following the rules, in particular physical distancing.
"There have been a couple of changes to the information required for contract tracing for visitors to your site so I have updated the Sign-In Register for Contractors/Visitors to include this," Cobb said. You can download the updated form here. Remember you must store these sheets safely, along with your staff sign-in sheets.
"At the same time I figured it is a good chance to ensure that you have the correct details on file for all your employees so have updated the Induction Sheet to provide room for an email address and mobile phone number. You can download the updated Induction Form here.
"The last one is it was brought to my attention that I had sent out a poster for keeping 1 metre apart, but the recommended distance is two metres. So the 2 metre poster is here if you want to put that up in your workplace.
"I know that there will continue to be many questions that arise over the coming weeks so don't hesitate to contact me, Susan or Glenda as we work our way through it."
New Zealand will stay at level 3 for at least another two weeks.
