Employers slam Victorian Premier's office lockdown

Employers are urging Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to back down on a dramatic escalation of the rules against business, after the Premier banned workers returning to offices until at least July.

The controversy comes as Victoria recorded seven new COVID-19 cases on Friday, including a school student. While the state has fewer active cases than NSW, it has had the fastest rate of infection this month by far.

Cafes, restaurants and pubs will reopen in Victoria this Monday, June 1, with a limit of 20 patrons, and schools will be back fully on June 9. But Mr Andrews warned that workers were expressly banned from returning to offices and fines would be imposed on any employers who disobeyed.

"For all of June, at least June, and it could go beyond that, if you have been working from home, you must continue working from home," Mr Andrews told reporters on Friday.

"The Chief Health Officer's directions from Monday will include if you have been working from home, you must continue working from home ... and your employer will be obliged to continue to support you.

"This is not an ask, this is an absolute requirement ... there is no option but to do this".

Victorian head of the Australian Industry Group, Tim Piper, slammed the escalated approach as "ridiculous" in the key business group's first comments to abandon support for the Premier.

“The Premier has successfully sought the support of industry during this period," he said. "But this is an unfair rebuke and one which is potentially divisive between employees and employers. You don’t want employees being asked to dob in their bosses."

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's chief executive Paul Guerra has been a key contributor on the government's plans and while he was more moderate in his criticism, he urged the Premier to reopen regional and suburban offices ahead of the CBD.

"Let's not have a blanket ban," he said. "The sooner we can get back to work the better. We are mindful the health crisis continues but we don't want this to drive a wedge between employers and employees."

Public transport sticking point

Mr Guerra said the key to reopening CBD offices is developing a plan for public transport and office lifts to get people "in and out and up and down", which may include staggered start times and limits on staff to one quarter or third.

Visits to recreation and retail centres in Victoria are down 37 per cent since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, and visits to the workplace down 37 per cent, the highest rates for any state or territory.

But the Premier said the number of trips on public transport had increased by 23 per cent since last week. Public transport usage has climbed to about 18 per cent and he wants to see usage at about 15 per cent and not rising towards 50 per cent.

Friday's national cabinet meeting agreed on new principles for public transport, including a voluntary approach to mask wearing on crowded trains and buses.

Unwell workers are required to stay home, maintain physical distance and avoid handling cash.

Mr Andrews confirmed the government was in talks with transport operators for a support package reportedly worth as much as $50 million.

He warned that the government was also concerned about "traffic chaos" if the majority of public transport users switch to cars.

"The number of people on the roads and the transport network is already starting to increase and we cannot let that creep continue," he said.

"If we do, then we’ll see commute times worse than anything any of us have ever experienced – two hours from Werribee to the city, 90 minutes from Reservoir and two-and-a-half hours from Mulgrave."

But there is also concern the office lockdown could hit commercial rent agreements, with Macquarie analysts among those predicting a 15 per cent decline in rents.

"All businesses, including commercial leasing, are facing challenges as a result of COVID-19 but we have strong fundamentals in this sector in Melbourne," said Cressida Wall, Victorian head of the Property Council of Australia.

Victoria's seven new COVID-19 cases on Friday included three from testing, two people in hotel quarantine and two under investigation. One of the new cases is a student from Keilor Downs Secondary College in Melbourne's north-west which has closed for at least 24 hours.

A teacher at the school tested positive last Friday, although they had not been at school. A St Albans Secondary College student and six students at Taylors Lakes Secondary College have been identified as close contacts of the infected student.