18 August 2021 – 10.00am

New Zealand is in Alert Level 4 – freight services are allowed (with conditions)

The RTF is the central point of communication to and from Government and the national media for the road freight transport industry. We keep our Covid-19 webpage updated with information needed by road freight operators.

We are in ongoing discussions with the government officials putting all the measures in place during New Zealand’s response to the Covid-19 virus.

Operational details

Who can operate
The Public Health Order covering the Level 4 lockdown (COVID-19 Public Health Response (Alert Level Requirements) Order (No 9) 2021) can be found here.

Freight services are allowed under Alert level 4, see below with conditions.

Schedule 2 of the Order, Alert level 4 businesses or services, number 14 exempts:

The following services:
• freight services (including those for transporting livestock) provided by means of road, rail, air, or sea:
• any other transport and logistics services, including those provided at or through an aerodrome or a port

With these additional conditions:

Must have systems and process in place to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable that each person who enters the workplace—
• scans the QR code for the workplace; or
• provides details in a contact tracing record that the person in control of the workplace collects.

Travelling to work at Alert Level 4

RTF advice

The RTF recommends you provide employees with a letter on your company letterhead (can be electronic) outlining that they are:
An essential worker, as per Schedule 2 of the Public Health Order covering the Level 4 lockdown (COVID-19 Public Health Response (Alert Level Requirements) Order (No 9) 2021. That states the following services are allowed:

• freight services (including those for transporting livestock) provided by means of road, rail, air, or sea:
• any other transport and logistics services, including those provided at or through an aerodrome or a port

This is the current advice from the Government:

If your employees need to go into the premises or work on site, they can use public transport to commute.

Employees may be asked to show who they work for so they can prove they have a reason to travel. We recommend you provide your employees with a letter to confirm who they are, and their role.

Everyone legally must wear a face covering on all public transport, unless they have an exemption.

Guidance for operators

WorkSafe previously signed off guidance and protocols developed by the RTF to help businesses. These include Covid-19 workplace protocols for road freight transport. You may need to refresh your memory on what is required and the guidance.

Access to PPE gear, food and toilets on the road

We will update when we have some info but we believe some public toilets are open.

Safety and security on the road

The RTF recommends you remind all drivers working at this time of your policies on working alone, or when there is a person down. Please ensure your despatchers and drivers stay in touch with each other and have systems in place to manage safety and security on the road and at pick-up and drop-off points.

Driver/worker health and wellbeing

Please ensure all your staff follow the instructions from the Government regarding Alert Level 4 – this is on the Covid-19 webpage here.

There is more than one person in the community with Covid-19 and contact tracing is imperative to keep this outbreak to a minimum. Please keep up to date with locations of interest here and follow the advice from health officials regarding exposure at those locations.

The RTF strongly recommends getting the Covid-19 vaccine when possible.

Support for businesses

The Government says there will be support for businesses during Alert Level 4 The measures include:

• The Wage Subsidy Scheme (WSS) which is available nationally when there’s a regional or national move to Alert Levels 3 and 4 for a period of seven days and helps eligible businesses keep paying staff and protect jobs. The rates have been raised to reflect increased wage costs.

• The Resurgence Support Payment (RSP) is a payment to help support businesses or organisations with one-off costs due to a COVID-19 alert level increase to level 2 or higher. This is available to eligible firms at the same time as the WSS.

More details on applying for the WSS will be available soon on the Ministry of Social Development’s website, while information on the RSP can soon be found on Inland Revenue’s website.

You can read the Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s media release here. We are awaiting updates from the Government.

Message from Nick Leggett

The week ahead, and possibly beyond, is going to be challenging for all road freight transport businesses and their customers. The Road Transport Forum and the association you are a member of are here to help you so please contact us if you need anything.