NZ Post puts the call out for extra workers to cope with Christmas demand

Thursday, 7 October 2021

NZ Post has hired an extra 800 workers in the last seven weeks, but says it needs another 300.

NZ Post chief operating officer Brendon Main said more online shopping combined with stay at home Covid-19 protocols had resulted in unprecedented parcel volumes.

But E tū union is concerned about the Covid-19 risks of bringing on large numbers of temporary workers.

Joe Gallagher, E tū union negotiator, said there was some reservation in the current NZ Post workforce about bringing on this number of people during the pandemic.

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NZ Post expected to deliver over 2.4 million parcels per week, over the Christmas period but will need more workers to cope.

* NZ Post warns of five-day delays for deliveries in and out of Auckland

* NZ Post has thousands of parcels in storage that can't be delivered to businesses

E tu union negotiator Joe Gallagher says NZ Post workers are nervous about the influx of temporary staff.

* NZ Post prepares for increase in online shopping, some delays expected

“People are extremely nervous. NZ Post has had five cases, and four of them were temporary staff,” Gallagher said.

NZ Post chief operating officer Brendon Main is confident that NZ Post will be able to find the workers it needs.

The union was working with NZ Post on how best to manage the new arrivals , he said.

Part of the picture was figuring out who had been vaccinated and who had not to better control worker safety, he said.

Gallagher said that as the Government’s strategy had shifted to opening up, rather than locking down, his concern was maintaining the safety of workers through vaccination and testing.

Main said on a normal week the state-owned postal service delivered about 1.6 million parcels. That number was now more than 2 million a week.

But over the Christmas period that numbers is expected to top 2.4 million parcels a week.

Parcel volumes were up about 50 per cent in Auckland and 25 per cent in the rest of the country, due to the alert level changes across the country, he said.

“It is going to be a big Christmas for us, so we are just looking for extra people to help us get everything where it needs to be,” Main said.

The 300-odd jobs were a mix of temporary and permanent roles.

The locations were spread around the country, but the bulk of people were needed in Auckland, Main said.

“There are three main types of roles we are looking for. Our delivery teams who help deliver the parcels, our sorting teams who help sort the parcels in the processing facilities, and we are looking for contact centre staff to help with calls from customers,” Main said.

Despite other industries struggling to find workers due to border closure, Main was confident that NZ Post would be able to find enough the workers.