The Australian Council of Trade Unions has credited the efforts of thousands of ordinary workers with defeating the government's union-busting legislation, vowing to keep up the fight when Attorney-General Christian Porter brings it back next week.

ACTU president Michele O'Neil, who lobbied crossbenchers in Canberra with secretary Sally McManus and dozens of rank-and-file union members in the lead-up to Thursday's vote, said it was the stories of nurses, paramedics, fire fighters and flight attendants that persuaded key senators to block the bill.

ACTU president Michele O’Neil and secretary Sally McManus celebrate the Ensuring Integrity Bill's defeat in the Senate on Thursday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"The entire union movement has been involved in the effort to stop this bill," Ms O'Neil said.

Mr Porter vowed on Friday to reintroduce the Ensuring Integrity Bill, which would make it easier to deregister law-breaking unions and disqualify officials, in the House of Representatives next week, but it will not go to a vote until next year.