EXCLUSIVE
The Coalition plans to follow Donald Trump‘s lead in bringing the ‘WFH holiday’ for public servants to an end if elected.
In one of his first acts after taking office, the returning US President signed an executive order forcing federal employees back to the office, five days a week.
The Coalition has signalled that it too wants to see public servants back at the coalface again – and fill vast taxpayer-funded offices that are often sitting empty.
‘Australians should expect to maintain a world-class, efficient public service,’ an Opposition spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Taxpayers don’t want to see bloated and excessive spending on bureaucrats doing busy work – or not using the office space Australians pay for.
‘The WFH holiday has to end.’
But the Coalition does not have the executive order power a US president has, and will face an uphill battle with unions if it tries to refill government offices.
Public servants currently enjoy some of the most generous and flexible conditions of any workers in Australia.
In one of his first acts after taking office, the new US President Donald Trump (pictured) signed an executive order forcing federal employees back to the office, five days a week
Despite the pushback in the US, the Coalition has signalled that it wants to see public servants back at the coalface. But, if elected, Peter Dutton’s party faces an uphill battle to fill government offices again (pictured: Opposition Leader Peter Dutton)
The Australian Public Service Commission enterprise agreement, signed in late 2023 under Anthony Albanese’s Labor government, brought in uncapped working from home days for Commonwealth employees.
The previous Coalition government had tried to limit WFH and called for public servants to return to the office.
But this was undone by Mr Albanese’s Labor government, which was ‘in hock to the unions’, a Liberal source said.
‘The Labor government essentially gave public servants a blank cheque to work from home.
‘Given taxpayers are paying for these vast government buildings to just sit empty, there is a real incentive to get people back in the office to boost productivity.
‘Not least, young employees are being robbed of the chance to learn from their more senior colleagues.’
The culture of home-based working has also destroyed many local cafes and eateries in Canberra, where a third of public servants are based.
One restaurant owner said they would be force to ‘walk away’ if the situation continued.
The Australian Public Service Commission enterprise agreement, signed in late 2023 under Anthony Albanese’s Labor government, brought in uncapped working from home days for Commonwealth employees (pictured: WFH or WFB)
‘It’s ridiculous. In an average week, we currently have only two full days of trade,’ the owner told the Daily Telegraph.
‘And it’s random. It feels like they (bureaucrats) wake up in the morning and it’s raining, they’ll just stay home. But I still have to come here and open up, employ staff.’
If the Coalition is to succeed in ending WFH, it will need to undo the enterprise agreement that currently allows almost unrestricted WFH for Commonwealth employees.
‘The Commission will not impose caps on groups of employees on the time that may be approved to work from home or remotely,’ the agreement states.
It later adds that ‘requests for flexible working arrangements are to be considered on a case-by-case basis, with a bias towards approving requests’.
Any move to change this agreement would face stiff resistance and a likely court challenge by the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU).
Daily Mail Australia approached the CPSU for comment.
The number of government employees have swollen by 22,000 under Labor with now over 365,000 people employed by the Commonwealth public service, according to recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (pictured: an empty Parliament House in Canberra)
The existing agreement has created a situation where it is common for only a handful of people to be present in an office designed to fit over 40.
Top officials from at least one major government department have even told outside agencies not to schedule meetings in Canberra on Mondays and Fridays due to the lack of present staff, according to the Australian Financial Review.
The number of Commonwealth government employees have swollen by 22,000 under Labor to now stand at over 365,000, according to recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
