This is while parliament moves towards an early election to be fought over union power and workplace rules.

The Australian Mines and Metals Association, which despite its name covers the wider resources sector, says it polled over 100 resource companies employing more than 85,000 Australians, and says just 5% of employers believe Australia’s workplace relations system reflects the modern economy, and 90% want the next government to “urgently” deliver genuine workplace reform.

They want the next government – which could be in place by July in the event of a double dissolution election, or before the end of the year of the Turnbull government runs to fill term – to implement the Productivity Commission’s key recommendations for workplace reform.

AMMA said 87% want the government to go further, and identified bargaining and agreement making, unfair dismissals, individual flexibility and union powers to enter workplaces as key areas where workplace legislation “is not working and needs to change”

“The survey overwhelmingly confirms that Australia’s workplace relations laws are creating significant barriers to employment and growth, and are making it difficult for Australian companies to compete globally. Our workplace relations legislation, the Fair Work Act, is clearly in need of significant amendment,” AMMA CEO Steve Knott said.

“Resource employers strongly support restoring the ABCC [Australian Building and Construction Commission] and improving the governance of registered trade union and employer organisations – but AMMA’s 2016 Federal Election Survey shows that Australia cannot afford to stop there on workplace reform.

“Consistent with recent findings of the Productivity Commission, the Fair Work Act must be significantly reformed in the interests of future jobs, growth and living standards.”

AMMA claims that unions have an “an artificially privileged position in enterprise bargaining”, a position shared by 90% of employers polled.

“This is no surprise given only 10% of private sector employees are union members and the current legislation rewards unions for gaming the system rather than sensible negotiation that contributes to productivity and competitiveness,” Knott said.

Almost all (94%) employers claimed that government regulation and compliance costs are a key impediment to growth; 89% report an inability to structure employment arrangements to suit operational needs; 79% are concerned at the frequency of union visits to their workplaces and just 0.07% believe enterprise bargaining is meeting the needs of both employers and employees.

AMMA said that 95% are concerned at having to pay ‘go away money’ to settle unfair dismissal claims “even when they have no merit”

These concerns have already been identified in previous reviews of the Fair Work Act under both Labor and the Coalition, AMMA said.

“Our nation’s resource employers are sending a clear message to the next Australian Parliament that it must deliver genuine reforms in key areas that have been repeatedly identified as barriers to employment and business growth,” Knott said.

“The national cost of failing to act is too great. In the past two years we’ve seen $160 billion of resource projects lost to Australia due to cost, delays and other competitive challenges. This is greater than our federal budget for health, education, defence and public services combined.

“Australia cannot afford to see future waves of global resource investment lost to this country, and jobs and economic benefits flow to competing resource nations.

“It is time to act, to fix clear problems in our workplace relations laws and to ensure they are more appropriate to the challenges we face as a nation. Genuine workplace relations reform will benefit employers, employees and the wider Australian community.”

AMMA’s call comes as parliament has been recalled to vote on the ABCC, a scrapped legacy of the era of former Prime Minister John Howard.

The independent, statutory authority, was responsible for monitoring and promoting workplace relations in the Australian building and construction industry between 2005 and 2012, but was scrapped when Labor returned to power after the 2010 election and many of its functions were taken on by a new independent, specialist agency called Fair Work Building & Construction.

Malcolm Turnbull has resurrected legislation introduced in the parliament by the man he deposed, Tony Abbott, in attempt to secure a double dissolution election trigger the Liberal Party can use to call a full Senate election, axe the cross-benchers and fight over issues of alleged union corruption and workplace relations.

Response

The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union says the ABCC will subject construction workers will be subjected to a set of laws that apply to no other Australians.

“The laws can compel workers to give evidence and be interviewed while stripping them of their right to silence and representation of a lawyer of their choice,” CFMEU national construction secretary Dave Noonan said.

“People who have committed serious crimes such as an accused ice dealer have more rights than workers in the construction industry.”

Penalties will be tripled for workers and their unions, while penalties for employers who breach their legal industrial obligations will stay the same, Noonan said.

The Law Council of Australia, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and other Australian and international bodies have condemned the laws in the past and the bill which is before the parliament.

“There are basic principles of law and common rights that we’re entitled to as Australian citizens. If this bill is passed, these rights are denied to construction workers and the legal safeguards that are part of our legal system will be stripped away,” Noonan said.

The ILO found that the former Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005, of which the ABCC bill is an extension, “repeatedly and unequivocally breached international human and labour rights conventions to which Australia is a signatory”, he said.

Construction issues have been one of the flashpoints at major Australian megaprojects, such as Chevron Corporation’s Gorgon and Wheatstone project, Inpex’s Ichthys and Woodside Petroleum’s Pluto project before that.

At LNG18 last week employers called on workers and employees alike to find common ground to help control costs and allow the next generation of projects to be built.

Anzac Day

The CFMEU over the weekend pointed to the actions of Wheatstone sub-contractor Mammoet, after a site manager sent out a memo last week saying that next Monday’s Anzac Day holiday was a normal working day, and that anyone wishing to take the day off had to submit an annual leave request.

Lead contractor Bechtel said the memo was “incorrect and not sanctioned”, but that workers could work the day if they wished.

Mammoet quickly changed its tune, but CFMEU said there had been issues around public holidays for more than five years.