Countdown loses 1400 staff to Covid-related absences

Thursday, 3 March 2022

“Please bear with us,” Countdown has urged as staff are off sick or isolating.

Businesses around the country are being forced to close their doors as staff numbers dwindle due to Omicron.

Countdown spokeswoman Kiri Hannifin said 1400 staff were away, either isolating as a positive case or as a household contact on Thursday. No stores were closed.

The supermarket chain has a feature on its website allowing shoppers to check whether their local stores are closed or operating reduced hours due to the pandemic.

“In our Auckland stores, we are about 10 per cent down in team numbers, and in our two Auckland distribution centres, we’re around 45 per cent down,” she said.

“As people come back from being unwell or isolating, we’re also seeing more people go off work, so we’re continuing to prepare for increased numbers of sickness and people away.”

Countdown spokeswoman Kiri Hannifin said as of Wednesday nearly 1000 staff were away, either isolating as a positive case or as a household contact.

* Supermarkets struggling with delivery capacity as number of people isolating rises

* Commerce Commission to supermarkets: if competition is increasing, explain your market share

A Stuff reporter overheard a staff member at a New Plymouth Countdown saying she had worked almost 12 hours on Monday.

Hannifin said store workers generally worked eight-hour shifts, but had the option to pick up overtime.

Some useful tips about how to prepare for home isolation.

Many suppliers were also affected by staff isolating, she said.

There was plenty of food and groceries available, but it was taking longer to be delivered to the supermarkets, she said

“Please bear with us,” she said.

Foodstuffs, owner of the Pak ‘n Save and New World supermarket brands, said the situation was too fast moving to provide numbers on how many staff were off work isolating or sick.

Chief executive of produce distributor Seeka Michael Franks said 85 of its 1400 had tested positive for Covid-19 and another 150 were isolating.

Franks said the company wanted to hire another 4200 workers in the next two to three weeks.

New Zealand Couriers is at “crisis status” as staff isolate.

“We remain short of labour after two very tight years,” Franks said.

Seeka had increased protocols at its 11 pack houses , including more distancing, thermographic temperature technology, masks, gloves and screens, he said.

But there was a significant shortage of foreign seasonal workers, he said.

Seasonal workers under employed under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme must be paid for a minimum of 30 hours a week regardless of whether they were working or not which put more pressure on the business, Franks said.

New Zealand Couriers said on Wednesday it would only deliver critical items to and from Auckland because half its workforce was not able to work due to the effects of Covid-19.

Business New Zealand chief executive Kirk Hope says ‘the big sick’ is yet to arrive.

In an email to customers the courier company said Auckland services were likely to move to “crisis status” on Thursday unless volumes were significantly reduced immediately.

At crisis status it would move only medical necessities, the company said.

Businesses were warned in January to prepare for a huge number of staff absences, dubbed ‘the big sick’, as Omicron took hold.

Business NZ chief executive Kirk Hope said despite thousands of people off work isolating across the country, ‘the big sick’ hadn’t arrived yet.

“That will come with the peak of omicron, and potentially the arrival of the flu season later in the year,” Hope said.

Omicron affected businesses in phase two of the red traffic light setting due to the increased number of people needing to isolate because they were close contacts of cases, and the limited supply of rapid antigen tests.

At phase three, the requirement to isolate had been narrowed to those who were positive cases and household contacts, which was helping businesses to maintain staff numbers, Hope said.

“It is, however, challenging as we see case numbers rise rapidly.

“Once we are through peak Omicron in a few weeks, this should alleviate the pressure on businesses,” he said.

There has been a sharp increase in online ordering and delivery.

Countdown struggled to keep up with the demand for its delivery services, and encouraged people to shop in-store if they could, to keep the service free for people isolating, Hannifin said.

Figures from online food delivery service Menulog revealed the number of orders from convenience stores, had increased fivefold since April last year.