Fuel crisis must not revive COVID-era working from home

“The public service should have the same work-from-home expectations as the rest of New Zealand. We can’t allow unions to use the fuel crisis to drag the country back to COVID times,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“When I saw the PSA saying it was fighting for public servants not to go to work, I hoped it was an April Fool’s joke. Sadly, it says everything about the unions that their biggest priority is campaigning for their members not to go to work.

“We don’t need to think back far to remember Labour’s COVID legacy: dead Wellington streets, a ballooning public service, and declining public service performance all at the same time. A major part of the problem was public servants not going into the office.

“The PSA says working from home is an essential right for workers. It is not. Flexible working should be a privilege, not a right, just as it is in every other business across New Zealand.

“The Public Service is unique in that it is centered around Wellington where there are trains and busses most public servants use to get to work. Using the fuel crisis as an excuse for people who would have caught public transport anyway to not come into work makes no sense.

“We can’t let today’s crisis erode our country’s future. With cool heads, we can respond to fuel shortages caused by the Iran war without repeating the knee-jerk mistakes made during COVID.

“Public servants should be at work unless there is explicit agreement for them to work from home. In any other business, this would be common sense.”