The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) has backed the contentious changes on the way for Australia’s construction sector.

The Federal Government’s Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Bill 2013 has been backed by industry groups but slammed by workers’ unions in submissions so far.

The Ai Group believes the Bill’s changes would be ‘very positive’, reining-in union behaviour it sees as ‘militant’.

The industry representatives see a breakdown in the four-pillar foundation Australian construction should sit on a solid; the Australian Building and Construction Commission, the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act, several measures which have been merged into the Fair Work Act (right of entry, genuine enterprise bargaining and others), as well as construction industry codes and guidelines.

“Unfortunately, each of these four pillars have been substantially eroded through ill-conceived changes introduced since 2009, including watering down the legislative provisions, implementing a much less effective building code, and reducing the powers of the Regulator,” Ai Group said in its submission.

“These changes have led to many unacceptable work practices of the past being reintroduced to the great detriment of construction industry contractors, subcontractors, clients and the broader community. There have been many recent instances of unlawful coercion by unions and unlawful industrial action and pickets organised by unions.”

The Ai Group is one of several that believe they are being pinned down by the ‘excessive’ rights of workers.

“Since the ABCC was abolished by the previous government there has been a resurgence of industrial thuggery orchestrated by building unions challenging the in the inadequate powers of Fair Work Building and Construction which was set up by the Gillard Government to replace the building industry’s tough cop on the beat,” Master Builders Australia chief executive officer Wilhelm Harnisch told a committee in the formation of the new Bill.

“We are seeing repeats of the acts of industrial bastardry displayed by the CFMEU in their unjustified behaviour on building sites in Melbourne, Queensland and Adelaide in recent times. The union’s tactics highlight the inadequacy of the powers at the disposal of Fair Work Building and Construction suppress this behaviour which is an affront to the community,” he added.

Unions have voiced a broad range of concerns, saying the amended Bill seeks to undo the hard-won rights, and heavily favours business interests over safety, rights ability to protest.