Kiwi print closes in level four lockdown

The New Zealand print industry has had to close, with print that is directly necessary for the essential supply chain the only exception, as the country enters level four lockdown. There are now five cases in the country.

Auckland and Coromondel are in seven day lockdowns, with the rest of the country for three days, initially at least. Support is available for those printers in the seven day areas.

Employers’ association PrintNZ said: “Only businesses providing essential services can continue to operate. At this point, if you are unsure if you provide an essential service, then you should probably close. If you are a part of the supply chain for essential services, then you are able to continue to operate.”

PrintNZ says that if printers do remain open they can only do the work that is part of the essential supply chain. It says they cannot undertake non-essential work while they are there, which may mean reduced hours.

A single Covid case prompted the government to head straight to Level Four, the highest level. There are now five cases. Print businesses in Auckland and Coromondel are locked down for seven days, which has triggered the Wage Subsidy Scheme, which supports eligible employers who experience a revenue loss of more than 40 per cent. 

The payment has been increased to $600 for a full-time employee and $359 for a part time employee. This would be paid in a two-week lump sum.

The Resurgence Support Payment through the IRD is also in play, which applies to a 30 per cent loss of revenue, and is up to $1500, plus $400 per employee up to a maximum of 50 employees.

Applications for both from printers in Auckland and Coromondel will be open from Friday. The rest of the country is locked down for three days, initially, and so not eligible.

The Kiwi lockdown is far stricter for business than those in Australian states, where printers are largely open for business, under Covid-safe protocols. The last time New Zealand was in level four 15 months ago the country’s biggest magazine publisher Bauer Media closed the whole business, as it could not print any of its magazines. It was eventually bought by Webstar owner Mercury Capital.

PrintNZ has provided the following advice to its members who are printing for essential supply chains:

• Staff must be able to work 2 metres apart.
• You will need to have in place strict hygiene protocols and provide appropriate PPE for all workers. This will require additional wiping down of common touchpoints and surfaces.
• Avoid cross-contamination between shifts.
• Staff that are not required for production of essential services should stay home.
• Anyone that can, must work from home.
• Anyone that is sick should not come to work.
• All receiving and dispatching of product must be contactless.
• You should keep a register of everybody that visits your premises or have a way of ensuring that every person scans your QR code.
• You may want to consider splitting shifts and separating smoke areas so that staff don't overlap, providing you with a buffer if one of your staff should trigger a requirement for isolation.
• Ensure you display the appropriate posters reminding people to sign in, wash their hands, remain 2 metres apart, how to cough appropriately etc. You can download these posters by clicking here.