'Nasty act from a nasty government': Labor and unions go in to bat for workers' rights

The battle lines are drawn as the Coalition attempts to pass a bill described as the worst since WorkChoices'

Labor, unions and the Morrison government have clashed repeatedly in an escalating row over proposed industrial relations changes that are the most significant since WorkChoices.

Labor has seized on the opportunity for a political contest on its preferred ground of workers' rights, accusing the government of giving frontline workers a Christmas gift of pay cuts in a bid to shore up Australian businesses.