The Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) has hit out at the Federal Government proposed workplace reform, saying it will reinforce union right of entry provisions to Australian workplaces, giving unions an unfair level of influence.

The resource industry employer group says the proposed changes to the Fair Work Act are ‘pandering to union bosses at the expense of Australian workers’.

"The prospect of unions having automatic access to lunchrooms fails to accept contemporary reality that more than 87% of Australian private sector workers are actively choosing to not be associated with a union. These people deserve to have their lunch in peace," says AMMA chief executive Steve Knott.

"We are already seeing a situation in which more trade unions are entering more sites more frequently to compete for members. Following recent signals from the government, the resource industry was hopeful that these very real concerns would be addressed, but in reality the proposed reform is heading in the opposite direction.”

Mr Knott says the resource industry also has 'great concerns' with proposals for compulsory arbitration on new project agreements.

"We question the capacity of industrial tribunal members, the majority of which have never been responsible for running a commercial business undertaking, to help bring multi-billion dollar resource project to the investment approval stage and project commencement," he says.