Tony Abbott has confirmed that the Liberal party would slash protection from unfair dismissals for working Australians if it wins power this year, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) said.

Media reports today indicate that the Federal opposition party are well-advanced into their planning to reintroduce one of the key elements of Work Choices, namely the lack of protection from unfair dismissals.

Unfair dismissal protection for Australian employees was reintroduced less than a year ago. However, ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said that the Liberal Party are “planning to take it away again”.

“Under the planned policy of Tony Abbott and Eric Abetz, if you work for a small business, you could be sacked without any reason, no matter how loyal you have been to that employer”, said Mr Lawrence.

Mr Lawrence further stated that “well over half of Australian employers have five or less staff. It may appeal to some employers to take away unfair dismissal, but it will be bad news for workers’ job security”.

The Liberal party’s plan to slash protection from unfair dismissal came alongside Mr Abbott’s confirmed plans to “reintroduce individual contracts, destroy the award system and cut penalty rates”, Mr Lawrence said.