The building and construction industry is welcoming a return to work once the country enters alert level 3.
The Government has outlined measures for the industry once the alert level is lowered and a further announcement will be made on April 20.
Infrastructure NZ chief executive Paul Blair says it’s “excellent news” and he encourages all members to adopt the COVID-19 Construction Protocols recently developed through industry-government collaboration.
“The protocols were developed by construction industry representatives from Construction Health and Safety New Zealand (CHASNZ), WorkSafe, Civil Contractors New Zealand and Registered Master Builders, among others, and under the leadership of the Construction Sector Accord.
“The protocols comprise a comprehensive set of health and safety guidelines and rules for working under alert level 3, in the residential, civil, and vertical construction sectors.
“We encourage all our members to familiarise themselves with these protocols, available on the CHASNZ website, to both keep workers safe and give them the confidence that it is safe to return to work.
“It is vitally important that all firms follow these protocols. The last thing we want is to cause a return to level 4 lockdowns.
“Construction not only improves the built environment and supports our well-being, it also bolsters a host of other infrastructure professions including architects, designers, engineers, investors, lawyers, surveyors, and consultants.
“Restarting construction will help these firms get back to work and focus will now turn to prioritising a programme of work which meets short, medium and long term objectives.
“We commend both the speed with which industry was able to develop these protocols and the Government’s swift decision making.
“This crisis has shown how valuable it is to have true partnership between industry and government. We look forward to continued collaboration,” Blair says.
