Tony Abbott's industrial relations spokesman Eric Abetz has attracted internal criticism for ''freelancing'' on future Coalition policy by suggesting an Abbott government would intervene in wage settlements if wage rates were too high.

Senior Liberals were aghast on Thursday when they read that Senator Abetz had granted an unscheduled interview on his party's workplace relations laws, during which he flagged that enterprise agreements entered into by unions and employers might be struck down if deemed excessive.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Coalition spokesman on industrial relations Senator Eric Abetz launch the workplace policy in May. Credit:Dallas Kilponen

He signalled changes to the Fair Work Act to require the industrial umpire to satisfy itself that productivity improvements had been ''genuinely discussed''.