Unions have vowed to fight for major changes to workplace laws, while claiming the industrial umpire is stacked with members from the "extreme end of big business".
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus addressed the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, setting out a "national crisis" which she says is being ignored by the Turnbull government.
She said Australia's industrial laws are now not strong enough to balance the power of big business after deep changes to the workforce in the past 10 years.
"The very few tools workers have to fight for fairness have been stolen or excessively, relentlessly curtailed, restricted and regulated," Ms McManus said.
"We are holding a toothpick, whilst employers have jackhammers."
A "broken" enterprise bargaining system is smothering wage growth and holding back the economy, she said.
"Workers have no right to bargain for a whole range of issues that matter to them, like their own job security. This is unfair," Ms McManus said.
"We should have the same rights. We demand equal and fair rights."
Ms McManus said the Fair Work Commission had been stacked by successive coalition governments with people representing employers' interests.
"The weakness of our industrial umpire is part of the reason why we see this escalation in wage theft," she said.
The ACTU is calling for a clear definition of casual work, with employees who have worked on a regular basis for six months given the option to convert to permanent roles.
"Casual work has increased, sham contracting continues unchecked, labour hire is growing, contracting out continues and the so-called gig economy is expanding," Ms McManus said.
Employers in the gig economy - which includes platforms like Uber, Airtasker and Deliveroo - are also in the ACTU's sights.
Ms McManus said classing workers as individual contractors, as the Fair Work Commission ruled, had denied them basic rights.
Ending the uncapped temporary working visa program, a major overhaul of labour hire and a shift in Commonwealth procurement rules also forms part of the ACTU's push.
Malcolm Turnbull said Ms McManus didn't believe in following the law and her views presented an insight into what a Bill Shorten-led Labor government would look like.
"He would lead, were he ever to be PM, the most left-wing, union-dominated, militant government we have seen in generations," the prime minister said.
Ms McManus confirmed she would meet Workplace Minister Craig Laundy to discuss the ACTU's agenda, which he says is a "left-wing lunatic" attempt to reset unions' business model.
The Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said the speech had reheated an old dinner that no one wanted, while the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry acting CEO said the ACTU's plans were a recipe for disaster.
