Unions say it will become even harder for workers to win pay rises if the government's reintroduced union-busting bill becomes law.
Labor failed to delay Attorney-General Christian Porter's introduction of the tweaked bill, which was initially defeated in the Senate last week.
Mr Porter said the draft laws, which make it easier to deregister unions and ban officials for repeated law-breaking, would benefit workers and the economy.
"(The bill) is not going away because the problem isn't going away," he told the lower house on Wednesday.
But Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus said the government had crushed wage growth and stalled the economy.
"Working people need a pay rise, but instead of doing something about that the Morrison government is reintroducing a bill which would shut down unions and make it even harder for working people to win pay rises," she said.
"This government will do anything to appease its donors, even if it means crashing the economy for everyone else."
Labor leader Anthony Albanese lost a vote to make parliament debate low wages growth, telling the prime minister to stop being so stubborn and abandon the "anti-worker legislation".
"He's an ad man with no plan," he said.
The attorney-general pointed to figures from the Australian Building and Construction Commission during his speech to parliament, saying there had been 400,000 court-ordered penalties related to unions over the last few months.
Workers had been spat on by union officials, he said.
The bill has been backed by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who say it is "too important to abandon".
"We need to fight for vulnerable employees and small business people who continue to face threats of violence and intimidation from a lawless minority within the union movement," chief executive James Pearson said.
The Australian Industry Group, also in support of the legislation, urged the crossbench to ensure it passes.
The "ensuring integrity" bill was rebuffed in the upper house last week, with One Nation opposing it in a humiliating defeat for the government.
"The crossbench should be assured that it is not some sort of 'anti-union' bill," Ai Group chief Innes Willox said.
"Rather it is a pro-workplace bill that will help ensure that the worst of the worst among a small group of unions think twice before law breaking."
Mr Porter is gearing up for a fresh round of consultation with the Senate cross bench, and says he is prepared to make further amendments to win their support.
Mr Albanese said even with further changes, the bill would still represent an attack on ordinary workers.
Australian Associated Press
