Opposition will support trade agreements with Indonesia, Hong Kong and Peru but push for a range of concessions

This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

The unions have blasted Labor for siding with the government on new free trade deals, accusing the party of abandoning workers and the ALP’s national platform.

Labor agreed to support the trade agreements with Indonesia, Hong Kong and Peru after a special caucus meeting on Thursday, but has resolved to demand a range of concessions from the government on labour market conditions and “outdated” clauses relating to investor legal rights.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions president, Michele O’Neil, who has been lobbying MPs to block the agreements, said the union movement had expected the Labor party to “stand up for workers and their jobs”.

“The decision by the ALP to side with the government is an abandonment both of their own platform, and of their responsibility to stand up for fair trade deals which deliver jobs for local workers, that protect Australia’s public services, sovereignty and visa workers from exploitation and that ensure international labor standards in the countries we trade with,” O’Neil said.

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“They’ve made a mistake that will not be forgotten by Australian workers.”

The decision also triggered a new social media campaign from the Electrical Trades Union, targeting the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, for breaching the party’s national platform.

“These deals are bad for Aussie jobs and let multinationals sue Australia if our laws hurt their profits. When is Albo going to stick up for Australian Workers?” the advertisement said.

At its national conference last year Labor adopted a more hardline position in its official party platform, requiring it to prohibit through legislation signing trade agreements that include investor-state dispute settlement clauses and that waive labour market testing.

After a meeting of shadow cabinet on Wednesday night, caucus agreed on Thursday to support the legislation that will bring the free trade deals into effect, but has requested the government do more to crack down on the exploitation of temporary foreign workers and investor rights.

In a letter sent by the shadow trade minister, Madeleine King, to the trade minister, Simon Birmingham, Labor calls on the Coalition to bring forward legislation to address worker exploitation.

King said Labor would back the agreements, but remained “concerned about how this government will implement them”.

“Trade generates jobs for Australian workers. Reducing barriers to trade also creates more competitive industries and benefits Australian consumers through lower prices and greater choice,” King said.

But she said the opposition was seeking “firm commitments” to safeguard Australian jobs and maximise market access for Australian businesses.

A key request is for the government to provide a guarantee that no new rights will be created for foreign workers to enter Australia under future agreements with Indonesia for contractual service providers, which is flagged in chapter 12 of the Indonesian agreement.

In addition, Labor will seek the termination of outdated bilateral agreements with Indonesia, which include old investor state dispute mechanism clauses, and a review of the new clause, which gives companies certain legal rights in commercial disputes.

Birmingham told Guardian Australia he was confident the matters raised by Labor could be accommodated, and he was still hopeful that the agreements could come into effect in the new year after passing parliament this year.

“I think we will be able to sensibly respond to the issues Labor has raised,” Birmingham said.

“We have to consider them, but many of them fall into the category of things that are either fears that they present which are not actually in the agreements, or assurances that they seek for things that may already be under way, but we will work through each of the issues raised,” he said.

The shadow employment minister, Brendan O’Connor, said Labor would do “everything we can” to focus on the interests of working people, but was constrained by being in opposition.

“We have got some serious concerns with some of the deficiencies and we have made very clear we want to see improvements,” O’Connor said.

“It’s only Labor that is concerned about labour market testing, it is only Labor that is concerned about ensuring that we don’t see the overuse or misuse of temporary visas to put downward pressure on wages, or to displace local workers, it will be Labor that will be championing those issues.

“And frankly, we are not in government, of course if we were in government we would be negotiating sincerely and genuinely to protect the Australian workforce. From opposition we will do what we can.”