News Corp’s Finance Writer Sophie Elsworth says the public sector is “the protected species” and there is a huge divide between them and the private sector in Victoria.

Her comments come as 25 per cent of Victorian public servants will be able to return to work in the office on January 11, while 50 per cent can return on the 8th of February.

Ms Ellsworth said those working in the public sector “should really be the ones coming back alongside the private sector”.

“This time leading into Christmas is critical for the CBD, and we’ve got no workers in there,” she said.

“The public sector down here is the protected species.

“They can sit at home, in their tracksuit pants, on their couches, working away, while private sector workers are slowly coming back and many of them are concerned they’ll even have jobs to come back to.”

Ms Elsworth said many Victorian public servants had received pay rises since the beginning of the pandemic.

“In my view, we should all be coming back to work,” she said.

“This delayed rollout Is hurting the economy even further.”