Countdown staff petition against the end of the supermarket's Covid-19 sick leave policy
Tuesday, 5 April 2022
Countdown workers are urging the supermarket to reintroduce its Covid-19 leave policy, in what the union is calling a “disaster-in-waiting”.
At 10am on Tuesday, workers from Countdown and representatives from First Union would deliver a petition, signed by 5000 people, to Countdown’s head office in Auckland.
The petition was calling for reinstatement of the company’s Covid-19 discretionary leave policy.
First Union organiser Ragda Hassan said it was urging Countdown to reconsider its decision to stop providing discretionary leave for workers who needed to isolate for Covid-19.
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“Earlier in the pandemic, Countdown had ensured that people who needed to isolate were supported to do so, but they have reversed that decision and are now requiring workers to use meagre sick leave allowances to do so, risking the future health of their workforce,” she said.
At the peak of the Omicron outbreak more than 2000 staff were off sick or isolating, which caused supply chain disruptions throughout the country.
Countdown managing director, Spencer Sonn said it had received First Union’s petition and thanked them for raising the concerns of their members with the company.
“We have been in close contact with the union throughout the pandemic and will continue to meaningfully engage with them on the issues and concerns they raise.”
Sonn said since March 2020, Countdown had provided discretionary leave for 8300 of its 20,000 team members while they recovered from Covid-19, self-isolated, or cared for loved ones impacted by Covid-19.
“All our team are fully vaccinated, and as the country’s Covid response has changed, we have also changed how we manage our own response as an employer.”
In February Countdown updated its leave policy for team members who test positive for Covid-19 to use their sick leave while they recover, which we can, and do, extend with discretionary leave if more time is needed at home, he said.
“Team members who are household contacts or caring for loved ones recovering from Covid are still provided with seven days of discretionary leave.”
Hasssan said the situation was a disaster-in-waiting.
“Workers are worried about not having any sick leave left for winter when many are contracting Covid-19 now - with some even getting it twice - just from doing their day-to-day jobs and being exposed to shoppers, some of whom are unvaccinated and mask-less.
'Countdown should do the right thing by their workers as well as in terms of their public health responsibilities - support their workers to isolate when they need to and leave their sick leave alone.'
Once the petition is presented, workers and representatives would meet with Countdown later in the afternoon.
It wasn't the first time action had been taken against the company by staff.
About 700 of Countdown’s Auckland distribution centre workers went on strike in November after the supermarket chain declined to offer pay increases in line with the consumer price index (CPI) during bargaining for a new collective agreement.
The workers signed a new agreement that would include a 5 per cent wage rise for the next year and a 3.9 per cent increase for a nine-month term in the following year.