Barely one in 10 believe it will, a survey shows.
The MYOB Australian Small Business Survey, released today, found 40 per cent of businesses think the Work Choices laws are unfair to many employees, and 42 per cent believe they are particularly unfair to low-skilled workers.
But 24 per cent did not think the new industrial laws were unfair to most employees, and 20 per cent did not think they were unfair to low-skilled workers.
Asked whether the Work Choices laws would make their business more productive, 34 per cent disagreed and only 12 per cent agreed, while 39 per cent were neutral.
Only 17 per cent of businesses agreed the new laws would make them more likely to hire new staff, while 31 per cent disagreed and 38 per cent were neutral.
One quarter of small businesses said Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) should be abolished, while 49 per cent said they should be retained and 26 per cent were unsure.
Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has promised to scrap AWAs if Labor is elected next year.
ACTU president Sharan Burrow said the survey's statistics showed the small business sector was turning its back on Work Choices.
"The federal government's new industrial relations laws have nothing to do with helping the economy and everything to do with increasing big business profits at the expense of the job security, working conditions, wages and living standards of working families," Ms Burrow said in a statement.