The rapid spread of the Omicron variant across the country has hit the Australian economy as workers get the virus or isolate because they are close contacts. 

Unlike last year, where bottlenecks in the global supply chain were the key pinch-point amid high demand for imports and a shortage of shipping containers, the biggest issue now is a shortage of workers in key industries across the country.

Combined with a surge in demand for some essentials — particularly medical products associated with COVID-19, such as rapid antigen tests and paracetamol — this has left many retail shelves and online stores out of stock.

Transport crisis 

A shortage of truck drivers is one of the major choke points, with unions saying up to 50 per cent of drivers at some companies are out of action.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews identified the shortage of truck drivers as the biggest problem in the supply chain. 

Mark McKenzie, from the Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association, is also warning of a pending fuel shortage, due to similar staffing issues.

"What we're starting to see now in our industry is a loss of staff in both fuel retailing and fuel transport, so the people who are actually driving the fuel around the country," he cautioned.

"It's well behind what we're seeing in the grocery sector, so it's not anything for us to be overly alarmed about at the moment, but our key concern is we're keen to work with government to avoid a supply shortage, rather than wait until it occurs."

He said around one in 10 workers were absent, which meant some petrol stations had reduced operating hours, and some sites had closed. 

"It has meant that late night, early morning period is getting very difficult for us to staff and we're prioritising the key business periods between 6am and 9pm," he added.

Mr McKenzie wants to see special isolation provisions put in place to allow the industry to maintain its workforce. 

He said around half of the staff who were out of action were close contacts of COVID cases. 

In contrast, Mr McKenzie said the global supply chain squeeze that caused problems getting products last year had eased. 

"It's more about the transport and the retailing of the fuel, so the general distribution to service stations, but also key industries like freight operators, mining, agriculture, mining, manufacturing."

Food industry 

Supermarkets are seeing shortages of food, particularly fresh fruit and vegetables and meat products, as staff come down with COVID-19 at their warehouses and in stores. 

Earlier this week, poultry producer Ingham's said the rapid spread of the Omicron variant and the resulting staff shortages had hurt supply, operations, logistics and sales.

It suspended production of some products, which in turn affected fast food chain KFC, which temporarily took some items off its menu.

The Australian Chicken Meat Federation said the industry was facing significant pressure because of the shortage of workers.

Executive director Vivien Kite warned products needing the most preparation would be in short supply, such as cut up, skinless and highly processed goods, while whole chickens should still be available. 

She said a critical lack of freezer space was adding to the problems. 

Richard Forbes, the chief executive of Independent Food Distributors Australia, said the crisis was hurting many businesses, from cafes and restaurants to aged care homes. 

The association represents family-run warehouses supplying not only cafes and restaurants, but also hospitals, aged care homes, schools, childcare centres, military bases and prisons. 

Mr Forbes said getting rapid antigen tests was a major problem right across the food chain and risked putting vulnerable people at risk. 

"One member in Queensland services 50 hospitals and aged care facilities in Queensland, 175 of his 350 staff are in isolation." 

He said asymptomatic people who tested negative should be allowed to return to work. 

"Our members supply to around 100,000 outlets and 70,000 of them are hospitality, cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs," he said.

"They are probably the worst hit, we are hearing absenteeism of around 50 per cent." 

He believes it will take some time for the situation to return to normal.

Panic buying 

High demand for certain products is also fuelling the shortages. 

Toilet paper, face masks, cleaning products and hand sanitiser are again in high demand, as is fresh produce and longer-life products such as pasta and frozen meals. 

A demand for medicines that can alleviate coronavirus symptoms has seen items like paracetamol stripped from the shelves.

That has led Coles and Woolworths to put limits on products including painkillers and toilet paper. 

Woolworths said the limits would ensure consumers had fair access to such items.

"Aussies are stocking up on everything from toilet paper and hand sanitiser to face mask, bleach and beyond," consumer website Finder said.

Safety at risk?

The Australian Council of Trade Unions is worried that allowing COVID-exposed workers in a wider range of industries back to work to keep the economy going could spread the virus further.

It said a Teys Australia abattoir in South Australia forced workers to work while they were infectious. 

Teys is a major supplier of meat to Woolworths. 

Teys said SA Health gave it the go-ahead to allow COVID-positive employees to work unless they had symptoms. 

ACTU secretary Sally McManus said allowing close contacts without COVID symptoms to return to work should only be extended where absolutely necessary. 

"That goes to critical supply chains and that goes to feeding people and keeping people safe in hospitals," she told AM. 

"If you do not look after working people, you do not look after the economy." 

Ms McManus wants RAT kits to be free for all Australians. 

Mr Forbes argued that employers were not putting staff at risk. 

"We would never put any of our workers in a position where they could fall ill just because we want to keep food flowing through the supply chain," he said.

"Health and safety comes first, and if we get that advice from the experts we will act on that advice."