2158 days ago

Foodstuffs is looking for more than 400 staff - over 300 of those are for its stores - as it grapples with a surge in demand created by Covid-19.

Brian from New Lynn

Supermarkets around Auckland have notices up in their windows seeking urgent help within their stores, some supermarkets have resorted to opening one hour later than usual in the mornings to allow enough time for staff to restock shelves. There are more than 350 job vacancies listed on Foodstuffs North Island website, the majority advertising for sales and store assistants, and more than 75 in the South Island. A spokeswoman for the company, which operates supermarket chains Pak'nSave, New World, and Gilmours, said the actual vacancy numbers were likely much higher. The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand has swelled to 39 in recent days. The rapid rise in cases has sent supermarkets into overdrive, who are calling for shoppers to "shop normally". Foodstuffs executives were unable to speak to the Herald today due to the chaos created by people stocking up on groceries in preparation for self-isolation. In a statement, Foodstuffs head of corporate affairs, Antoinette Laird, confirmed some supermarket stores, including some Pak'nSaves, had delayed their opening times by an hour or so to enable their teams to get the maximum volumes they can on the shelves. Countdown has announced that from tomorrow, all of its store, including its online service, will open from 9am instead of 8am. "Staff are working round the clock to make sure customers' needs are met and we are very conscious of looking after them and making sure they are cared for and coping – giving the team extra time is one way of doing this," Laird told. "Our operators are working closely with their local communities to scale up their teams accordingly and meet the increased customer demand Covid-19 has created. "This increased demand has opened a door for our owners to take on new team members whose previous employment may have been adversely affected by the outbreak – in times like these locals helping locals is incredibly important and it's great to see the community pulling together." New World and Pak'nSave supermarkets were also grappling with a surge in demand for its click and collect services following the outbreak, Laird said. "Online demand has increased significantly – we encourage customers to plan ahead as much as they can as stores are working extremely hard to fulfil online and meet additional customer needs." Prior to the outbreak, shoppers were able to make an order the night before a click and collect collection, the Herald understands shoppers now have to wait at least two days to get a pick up time slot.
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More messages from your neighbours
7 days ago

Dry cleaners mt Roskill

Katrina from Mount Roskill

Hello our fellow neighbors I was hoping someone would know where the old dry cleaners we had up at the lights on dominion road have moved to?? I was out of town and when I came back they were gone .... I had some items that I would really love to get back but if only I new where they moved to or how to get In Touch with the owners to see what they did with our clothes if they closed down or moved elsewhere? Any updates or news about it would be amazing neighbors. Have a great day

4 days ago

Poll: Should the government levy industries that contribute to financial hardship?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

As reported in the Post, there’s a $30 million funding gap in financial mentoring. This has led to services closing and mentors stepping in unpaid just to keep helping people in need 🪙💰🪙

One proposed solution? Small levies on industries that profit from financial hardship — like banks, casinos, and similar companies.

So we want to hear what you think:
Should the government ask these industries to contribute?

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Should the government levy industries that contribute to financial hardship?
  • 59.6% Yes, supporting people is important!
    59.6% Complete
  • 26% No, individuals should take responsibility
    26% Complete
  • 14.4% ... It is complicated
    14.4% Complete
909 votes
11 days ago

Even Australians get it - so why not Kiwis???

Markus from Green Bay

“Ten years ago, if a heatwave as intense as last week’s record-breaker had hit the east coast, Australia’s power supply may well have buckled. But this time, the system largely operated as we needed, despite some outages.

On Australia’s main grid last quarter, renewables and energy storage contributed more than 50% of supplied electricity for the first time, while wholesale power prices were more than 40% lower than a year earlier.

[…] shifting demand from gas and coal for power and petrol for cars is likely to deliver significantly lower energy bills for households.

Last quarter, wind generation was up almost 30%, grid solar 15% and grid-scale batteries almost tripled their output. Gas generation fell 27% to its lowest level for a quarter century, while coal fell 4.6% to its lowest quarterly level ever.

Gas has long been the most expensive way to produce power. Gas peaking plants tend to fire up only when supply struggles to meet demand and power prices soar. Less demand for gas has flowed through to lower wholesale prices.”

Full article: www.theguardian.com...


If even Australians see the benefit of solar - then why is NZ actively boycotting solar uptake? The increased line rental for electricity was done to make solar less competitive and prevent cost per kWh to rise even more than it did - and electricity costs are expected to rise even more. Especially as National favours gas - which is the most expensive form of generating electricity. Which in turn will accelerate Climate Change, as if New Zealand didn’t have enough problems with droughts, floods, slips, etc. already.