Community 'will die' if Wellington civil servants continue to work from home, National MP says

Wednesday, 27 May 2020

Central Wellington was like a ghost town as civil servants stayed home during the first Covid lockdown. It has since bounced back, but not to pre-pandemic levels. (Video first published in May 2020)

The Government is being urged to bring public servants back to their offices by lifting restrictions sooner.

Wellington CBD has been a ghost town and could remain like that as thousands of people continue to work from home during alert level 2.

Commuter numbers into central Wellington are down by 30 per cent post-lockdown, while spending in the city is down between 18.7 and 30.1 per cent, according to Dot Loves Data.

BusinessNZ, the Chamber of Commerce and Wellington-based National MP Nicola Willis have spoken out about the state of the city — raising concerns about job security and the community.

**READ MORE:

A large number of public servants have yet to return to work in Wellington CBD.

* Retailers in the regions benefit as more work from home

* Wellington CBD may remain a ghost town for months as civil servants stay home

* Coronavirus: Public servants shun central city at alert level 2

National MP Nicola Willis says the community will die and Wellington CBD could become a ghost town if the government doesn't bring people back to work.

* Coronavirus: What will Alert Level 2 look like for Wellington?

Willis said “our community will die, hundreds could lose their jobs, the CBD could become ghost town if the Government doesn't bring people back to work”.

Wellington Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Milford says businesses that rely on daytime economy are desperate.

“It's not just about the economy, but the people who run our local businesses, who make us a functioning city.

“If you can safely return to work, you should do so.”

“The Ministry of Health says people can return to the workplace. At a number of government offices that is possible,” she said.

Like Willis, Wellington Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Milford said if working from home continued, it would have a serious impact on hospitality, cafés, hairdressers and retail stores.

Many civil servants have yet to return to work in Wellington CBD.

A number of government departments and other large employers have yet to have all their staff return to their offices, which has had a major effect on the number of workers in the CBD during weekdays and the city as a whole, he said.

“Businesses that rely on the daytime economy are desperate, the figures show that many are operating at 20-30 per cent of revenues compared to last year. That’s not sustainable.”

“I’m not sure what the new normal will look like.”

BusinessNZ and the Chamber of Commerce were pushing the Government to lift restrictions sooner.

“We would like to know what Level 1 looks like, but given our good border controls and contact tracing network, we should consider going to Level 1 sooner rather than later,” Milford said.

“Otherwise, we are looking at another month before things return to some kind of normal. Even with Government support, that won’t be sustainable.”

Public Service Association's national secretary Glenn Barclay said while some people have leaped at the chance to head back to work, others were not so excited.

Those workers had legitimate concerns about their safety and preparedness of their workplace, he said.

“Our members are understandably anxious about relying on public transport and risking exposure to illness.”

The Public Service Association believed flexibility should be available to all workers “but not imposed upon them”.

“Employees should be judged by the work they get done, not the hours they spend sitting in a particular chair in a specific office.

“It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure the health and safety of staff when they are working, wherever that may be. Work-life balance must still be maintained even when we don’t go into the office.”

The union was closely monitoring employer behaviour as more members began heading back to work.

“We will take action if required to ensure safety is not sacrificed for dollars.”