A mayoral candidate has promised to end working from home in Melbourne and bring councillors back to the office in a bid to revitalise the city.
Arron Wood has announced that if he wins the October election he will bring Melbourne’s 1,700 government workers back to work in the office at least four days a week.
The drastic measure is part of his broader plan to ‘reinvigorate Melbourne’s economy by ensuring more people get to the city safely and on time’.
Mr Wood also announced a $25 million package to ensure Melbourne becomes an international city again. Herald Sun reported.
His plan comes a month after the New South Wales government demanded its 450,000 workers return to the office, a move that sparked outrage.
Mr Wood said the needs of small businesses drive him and said he has been a small business owner himself for 20 years.
According to Wood, businesses are at a “crisis point” due to the cost of living crisis, noting that a survey found 45 percent had considered closing in the past year.
Melbourne mayoral candidate Arron Wood (pictured) has announced a $25 million package to make Melbourne an international city again
A mayoral candidate has promised to end working from home in Melbourne and bring councillors back to the office in a bid to revitalise the city
“When there is a crisis, the City of Melbourne must do everything it can to prevent small businesses from going under,” he said.
His proposal comes just weeks after another Melbourne mayoral candidate, former AFL player Anthony Koutoufides, announced he would not only send city councillors back to office, but also all government and business workers.
In August, the candidate said that ending work-from-home for all workers would be his “first priority.”
“We will work with the state government to introduce new laws that require government and corporate employees to work in the office at least four days a week to make the city more vibrant,” he said.
Mr. Koutoufides recently tried to sweeten the deal for workers by announcing that he would buy city employees a cup of coffee every Monday morning for at least a month to lure them from the suburbs.
Mr Wood said he was driven by the needs of small businesses and noted he had been a small business owner for 20 years.
But his plan has faced widespread opposition, with Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari saying the mayoral role does not come with the “right or ability” to intervene in labour agreements between workers and employees.
Mr Hilakari also said that since the lockdown, employees have found new ways of working that “better suit their families’ needs, increase productivity” and reduce stress.
“Workers decide how we spend our money. Ideas to force people back into the CBD to subsidize failed city businesses will only come at the expense of local small businesses in the suburbs,” he said.
Paul Guerra, executive director of the Victoria Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has said businesses need more people in the city, but only employers can make the decision to force workers back to the office, not a mayor.
In early August, Premier Jacinta Allen’s office said working from home offers greater flexibility, allowing “more women to stay in work”. In addition, Melbourne’s CBD has returned to pre-pandemic levels and the city is “running at full capacity”.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Wood for comment.