Premier Jacinta Allan accused of ‘gaslighting' Victorian workers in WFH push

News.com.au

3 days ago

Premier Jacinta Allan is 'gaslighting' Victorian residents following her pledge to legislate the right to work from home, the opposition has claimed.
On Saturday, the premier announced it would introduce legislation next year to allow residents to work from home – in the private and public sector – for at least two days a week.
'Work from home works for families and it's good for the economy,' she said.
'Not everyone can work from home, but everyone can benefit.
'If you can do your job from home, we'll make it your right – because we're on your side.'
However, the plan was criticised by opposition industrial relations minister Tim Wilson on Sky News, who argued the move was 'stunt over substance' and accused the premier of 'gaslighting' the Victorian people.
'I support fundamentally working from home arrangements as part of what works for people,' he said.
'But what the state government is doing is going stunt over substance.'
He argued the legislation would not apply for all Victorians, especially those who work in retail, hospitality and on the front line.
'What is obvious to everybody is that teachers, nurses, tradies, retail workers, they're not going to get the benefit from it,' he said.
'So what we have is the Premier gaslighting Victorian employees, but in the process, putting serious risk at jobs in Victoria.'
On Monday, the Victorian Chamber of Commerce raised concerns over the proposed law and how it could affect productivity levels.
The body's chief executive Paul Guerra said the move was 'perplexing' given the Federal Government's focus on boosting productivity levels in the Economic Reform Roundtable, and argued if the state moved away from the national system, there's a risk 'businesses will move interstate and jobs will be lost'.
'If we want businesses to be productive – and to raise the economic prospects of everyone in this state and this country – we need to get out of their way and let them operate in a way that best suits their model,' he said.
The Chamber has also raised concerns that the proposal may be unconstitutional if enterprise bargaining agreements are already in place, as they operate under the federal jurisdiction.
However, Ms Allan said the state government would undertake consultation with the Department of Premier and Cabinet, where they will 'focus on ensuring the law reflects the real-world experience of working from home'.
'This consultation process won't determine whether working from home should be a right,' Ms Allan said.
'We're already clear on that: it should be. We just need the appropriate laws to reflect it.'
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Wilson said the proposed law was not possible for private sector workers.
'(The Victorian Government) made an announcement that they were going to essentially try and guarantee an outcome,' he told Sky News.
'Since then, lawyers have said, actually, you can't do that for private sector workers. That's covered by federal law.'