New leave scheme for essential workers

WELLINGTON: Speaking at her daily media conference yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a new leave scheme for essential workers, allowing them to be paid the same as the wage subsidy.

Ms Ardern said the new scheme would start on Monday.

‘‘This is to ensure that any essential frontline workers who are vulnerable are now supported to be at home and that their employers will continue to have that expectation that they can continue to be at home.’’

It will pay the same rate as the wage subsidy scheme: $585 a week fulltime, and $350 a week for parttime workers.

So far $4.5 billion had been paid out under the wage subsidy scheme, helping more than 750,000 New Zealanders, 115,000 of whom were self employed, Ms Ardern said.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the Government had pledged about $22 billion for the response to Covid19.

The essential workers leave scheme has an estimated spend of $100 million.

The prime minister also said the Government would allow foreign nationals to travel domestically to get to international airports in order to fly home

Under the managed exit plan, foreign nationals returning home would be classified as ‘‘essential travel’’; they would be able to travel domestically by air or land when they had a confirmed or scheduled exit flight out of New Zealand.

‘‘I want to assure foreign nationals that they will have the time to make a plan, make a safe plan for themselves to utilise those commercial options.’’

Ms Ardern said an official Government WhatsApp group was being set up, which would include updates, news, case information, symptoms, financial and mental health support.

‘‘It includes the latest case information for today and will do so on a rolling basis.’’

❛ This is to ensure

that any essential frontline workers who are vulnerable are now supported to be at home and that their employers will continue to have that expectation that they can . . . be at home