Last week TEU organiser and health and safety expert Megan Morris spoke with TEU National Secretary Sandra Grey on the ways our members can ensure they maintain their health and wellbeing during Covid-19 restrictions, whether we are on-site, or working from home.

TEU organiser Megan Morris says it’s important at this time that our tertiary education institutions are ensuring they have a safe work plan for operting at the various alert levels,

“Safe work plans should be clearly communicated to all staff so they know what their responsibilities are at this time and where to go to ask for help. It’s also really important that our members have an opportunity to provide input, feedback and consultation in our safe work plans, specifically from our on-site health and safety representatives”.

Safe work plans are generally more focussed on the physical work environment, so Morris says it’s crucial we look after our wellbeing, and that of our colleagues,

“Members need to make sure we are checking in with one another and with our health and safety reps, branch committees and branch presidents, to make sure we are managing our workloads and our wellbeing”.

Morris continued, “We need to be clearly telling our managers if our workloads are too high so our managers are aware there is a problem. If they don’t know there is a problem, they don’t know they have to fix it”.

Morris says there are some basic things we can do, whether we are on-site or working from home to ensure our health and safety and that of students, colleagues and whānau.

“Working from home, staff might like to enquire about taking their work chair home with them for greater support, and all staff should ensure they are taking regular breaks. At work, masks, sanitisers and social distancing are all great ways to look after yourself and others, particulary when working in large groups”.

For TEU National Secretary Sandra Grey the message is simple,

“Protecting yourself at work is a great way to protect your whānau at home. Look after yourselves, look after your whānau, look after your wellbeing”.

For more information visit here ; Safe work at Alert Level 3 ; Safe work at Alert Level 2.