Public servants in Sydney, Australia, and beyond were authorized to return to the office

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The government of Australia’s most populous state ordered all civil servants to work in their offices automatically from Tuesday and called for stricter restrictions on remote work, after the media sparked a heated debate over work-from-home practices introduced during the pandemic.

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, in a statement sent to unions on Monday that jobs can be made to evolve in other ways than remote working, such as temporary positions and role sharing, and that “to build and fill public institutions” is necessary ” to be physically present.” His speech was welcomed by businesses and real estate agencies in the largest city in the state, Sydney, who criticized the decrease in the number of people living in offices from 2020, but were criticized by unions, who promised to challenge the program if it is used unnecessarily.

The order made the state government, Australia’s biggest employer with more than 400,000 workers, the latest among a growing number of firms and institutions around the world to try to change remote work plans introduced as the coronavirus spreads. But it rejected the acceptance of long-standing work by other Australian state governments, said some analysts, who suggested lobbying by a major newspaper prompted the change.

“It appears that Rupert Murdoch’s Daily Telegraph in Sydney has been trying to get the New South Wales government to allow workers to return to the office,” said Chris F. Wright, an associate professor of labor. at the University of Sydney. This newspaper cited the economic opportunities that are possible for businesses that are struggling.

The newspaper wrote on Tuesday that the prime minister’s decision to “end work from home time” followed his own motivation, although Mins did not mention it as a reason.

But the union representing civil servants said there was little evidence of the change and warned the state government it could not close the posts.

“Across the New South Wales government, they’re trying to keep people,” said Stewart Little, General Secretary of the Public Service Association. “In other critical sectors such as child protection, we are looking at a 20% vacancy rate, you are talking about hundreds of jobs.”

Little is added that government offices have been reduced since 2020 and agencies will not be able to accommodate all workers on site. Mins said the state would lease the large area, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The change is a “game changer” for struggling city center businesses, says Katie Stevenson, Executive Director of the NSW branch of the Australian Property Council. “More workers mean more lives, more investment, and more businesses in our cities.”

Individual agencies can make their own policies, the order added, but they must ensure that employees “spread attendance across all days of the work week.” Requests to work from home must sometimes be legally approved for a limited time only and reasons for the request must be provided, the order said.

Mins said workplace culture and training opportunities will improve, echoing other business leaders around the world who have questioned the productivity of remote workers. Most government workers, such as teachers and nurses, could not work from home anyway, he added.

The order separated New South Wales from other Australian states, one of which wanted to cash in on the move on Tuesday. A spokesman for Jacinta Allan, the premier of neighboring Victoria, told reporters the state’s remote work allowances would remain intact and disgruntled NSW public servants should consider moving there.

Wright said the change not only ended the transition period during the crisis but also reversed a decade of Australian government measures promoting remote working to reduce barriers to workforce participation, reduce carbon emissions and reduce congestion.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been widely supportive of remote working. His government will introduce “right to terminate” legislation later this month that will allow workers to refuse to work outside of agreed hours.

-Charlotte Graham-McLay, The Associated Press

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