Victorian workers reluctant to return to office over mask rule, says industry group

The Victorian head of the national employer association, the Australian Industry Group, Tim Piper, said with the return of tourists to Australia, the state government should also be allowing businesses to return to a more normal setting.

“Businesses are continuing to unnecessarily suffer because workers are not in their offices and they don’t want to attend offices while wearing masks,” he said.

“And it’s not just CBD workers that must be encouraged to go into the office. It’s also those working in offices in the suburbs and the regions who must be encouraged to return to a more normal working environment.

“We have no doubt there will be a hybrid style of work for many people into the future. But that must be a negotiated position between employees and employers, not one that is artificially created and imposed by the government.

“It is time to start reconsidering the best way to get people back into the office and to do it quickly.”

Mr Piper said he was receiving calls daily from senior business people expressing great concern at their inability to get people back into the office, to improve efficiencies and to create a more business-as-usual approach.

“It’s an environment that must be changed and now is the opportunity for the Government to note and act on the concerns of business,” Mr Piper said.