Employers may need to consider staffing arrangements for the week of World Youth Day.

The transport message for Sydneysiders is to leave the car at home, and use public transport if you can and if travelling into the city, please allow for delays.

There will be much greater demand on NSW public transport services as well as road closures and special event clearways to accommodate the movement of the huge number of pilgrims (what the Catholic Church calls people who register to attend WYD08 events) and members of the public.  This will lead to some delays and changes to regular transport and traffic arrangements. 

Train services will be maintained for morning and afternoon commuter peaks, and weekday bus services to the CBD will operate as normal, but with road closures through the city, passengers should expect changes to their pick-up and set down points. 

Employers may wish to remind their employees that there will be a lot more people using our transport services during WYD08 week and to allow for extra time to get to and from work.

Rostering and employment of additional staff may have to be considered in the hospitality industries.

Any additional hours worked are subject to the provisions of the relevant award or workplace agreement re payment of overtime or penalty rates.

Employers might also like to consider:

Suppliers and deliveries– wherever possible, look to re-schedule delivery times and factor in additional travel time for travel around the city.  Check the RTA website at www.rta.nsw.gov.au or call 132 701 to see if the traffic conditions in your local business area have changed, for example, loading zones might have been changed to special event clearways. 

Stockpiling – consider ordering more non-perishable goods or office supplies to reduce the need for a delivery during World Youth Day week.

For further information about workplace issues, go to the NSW Office for Industrial Relations website at www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au.