Unitec Executive Director Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has sent the below message to all staff regarding the Auckland floods. Working and learning should be done remotely until 7 February.

He sent another update today, specifying that ONLY essential staff can be on campus, with permission after 2pm, 31 January due to an incoming storm – further update to follow.

Face-to-face learning suspended until Tuesday 7 February

Talofa lava

First, I want to acknowledge what a tough time it’s been for many in our region, and I hope you are taking care of yourselves and your whānau.

This afternoon the Secretary of Education issued an order that, effective immediately, no face-to-face teaching can occur in the Auckland region (Wellsford to Pukekohe) in a state of emergency.

As a result, where possible, all teaching and learning will need to move online until Tuesday 7 February.

This order has been issued in response to a request from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to help minimise traffic movement on Auckland roads while vital infrastructure is urgently repaired.

Further guidelines and more information around this decision can be found on the Ministry of Education website.

What this means for kaimahi:

• All kaimahi will need to work from home where possible
• Kaimahi can collect essential items from our Mt Albert campus, please contact your manager first and limit your time on site. PLEASE SEE UPDATE FROM PESETA REGARDING ACCESS – THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE WHEN OUR CAMPUS IS CLOSED, AS WITH 31 JANUARY

Building closures / Restricted access

The Waitākere campus will remain closed and will not be accessible until the wider impact of flood damage in the basement can be determined. This is to ensure the health and safety of our staff and students is not compromised.

Buildings 112 – 115 at our Mt Albert campus will also remain closed while work is carried out to repair water damage.

Staff will be able to access Building 112-115 to collect essential items only, please speak to your manager first and contact our Security team on 021 610 877. They will organise an appropriate time and access for you to collect what you need.

We will provide further updates on progress at Waitākere and Buildings 112-115 over the coming days.

Teaching and Learning support

Heads of Schools will be in contact to provide further information and guidance around delivery plans for students who were scheduled to come to campus this week.

Please ensure learners are kept informed of any changes impacting them and how we will be continuing to support their learning at this time.

Kaimahi support

I understand this has been a challenging time for many of our kaimahi and we want to ensure we can support you and your teams through this process.

If you have any questions or concerns, please speak to your manager in the first instance; they will work alongside the relevant teams to provide any additional support we may have available.

Further help for kaimahi is available through our Employee Assistance Programme, more information can be located on Te Aka.

Our diligent teams are monitoring this developing situation closely and we’ll keep you up-to-date with our ongoing response.

Faafetai

Peseta Sam Lotu-Liga 
Executive Director Unitec/MIT