NSW Health is testing five close contacts of the staff member at the Tuggerah call centre

This article is more than 4 months old

This article is more than 4 months old

The government services minister, Stuart Robert, was warned of concerns about workers’ safety at a Services Australia call centre nearly two weeks before a staff member tested positive to Covid-19.

NSW Health announced this week that the call centre in Tuggerah, on the NSW Central Coast, had been closed briefly for cleaning after a worker returned a positive test.

Health authorities are now testing five close contacts in the same workplace who are displaying symptoms, while some other staff who may have been near the affected staff member are in self-isolation.

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The federal government insists measures have been in place since February to protect Services Australia staff, who have been handling a huge surge in demand for Centrelink payments as the coronavirus crisis leads to a wave of job losses.

But it has emerged that the federal member for Dobell, Emma McBride, wrote to Robert on 6 April to raise concerns and seek assurances about the working conditions at the Tuggerah call centre.

In the letter – seen by Guardian Australia – the Labor MP told Robert she was concerned about reports “that some 200 people have been working in the call centre without appropriate arrangements in place to maintain the safety of workers through social distancing and other infection control measures”.

“I am also concerned by reports that workers have been told that they are unable to work from home due to a shortage of secure laptop computers,” she wrote, while seeking a “prompt reply regarding these important matters”.

On 16 April McBride’s staff contacted Robert’s office for a progress check and received confirmation that the letter had been received, McBride said.

Then, on 18 April, NSW Health began contacting staff members to inform them that someone at the centre had tested positive to Covid-19, before announcing the news on Monday 20 April.

Guardian Australia asked Robert’s office to confirm the minister had received the letter on 6 April and whether he took any action to address those specific concerns.

A spokesperson for Robert did not answer the questions directly, but provided a broader response saying that plans to ensure all staff had the right working environment to deliver essential services “have been enacted since February”.

“This includes following guidance from the Department of Health in terms of social distancing, increased cleaning, minimal face-to-face meetings and restructured teams,” the spokesperson said.

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“The minister has been receiving daily updates from Services Australia on operations in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The minister has absolute confidence Services Australia will continue to implement appropriate work environments for essential workers during the pandemic.”

Labor’s spokesman on government services, Bill Shorten, said it was “very disappointing that there is a pattern of Mr Robert ignoring issues of genuine community concern if they are raised by local Labor MPs”.

“I just hope his failure to intervene here has not directly caused a much worse public health crisis at the Tuggerah Centrelink call centre,” Shorten said.

The exact date of the positive test and the circumstances in which the worker may have contracted Covid-19 have not been made public.

The general manager of Services Australia, Hank Jongen, said the safety of staff and customers was the agency’s highest priority.

“Those staff who may have been in close contact with the affected staff member have been notified and are self-isolating,” he said in a statement. “The site is open for other staff.”

Jongen said the agency was “actively working with staff at greater risk than others to provide options, like working from home, consistent with medical advice”.

The episode comes against the backdrop of increasing demand for the jobseeker payment, formerly known as Newstart.

Scott Morrison, the prime minister, revealed on Tuesday that Services Australia had processed 517,000 jobseeker claims since mid-March. The government says 6,000 additional staff are helping to take calls and process claims across the nation.

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The Community and Public Sector Union said staff were “working longer and harder than ever before trying to meet this unprecedented surge”.

Alistair Waters, the union’s national president, said physical distancing and sanitation needed to be enforced, even if this meant moving workers or call centres to other buildings.

“There is office space available; Services Australia should be looking to use all available resources both in the Central Coast and around the country,” he said.