Barry O'Sullivan voted strongly against increasing trade unions' powers in the workplace

The majority voted against a motion to agree with the bills' main idea, which means that the bills have been rejected by the Senate.

These bills have now been rejected by the Senate twice, which means that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull can now request a double dissolution election (read more about this on ABC News).

What is a double dissolution election?

A double dissolution election is different from a normal election because both the House of Representatives and the Senate are dissolved and all senators are up for election. Usually only half of the senators are up for election.

Main idea of the bills

The purpose of the bills is to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), which was dissolved by the Rudd Labor Government. Read more about the ABCC in the bills digest.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon (NSW), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) that 40 per cent of the Australian workforce is employed in insecure work,

(ii) there is an increase in jobs that have irregular work hours and pay, inferior rights and entitlements and no job security compared to fulltime work,

(iii) the growth of insecure work is primarily driven by employers trying to increase profits by avoiding costs such as paid leave, workers' compensation, long service leave and superannuation, associated with fulltime work,

(iv) that although irregular working arrangements might suit some people, employees currently have little control over their working hours and arrangements, so 'flexibility' usually just means flexibility for the employer, and

(v) that unions play a key role in protecting workplace conditions of workers; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

(i) help give people a better work-life balance by giving them more control over their working hours and arrangements, strengthening rights and minimum standards for contractors, and securing improvements to the bargaining system,

(ii) ensure all workers have access to fair working conditions, such as annual leave, paid sick leave, overtime, penalty rates and long service leave, and

(iii) recognise the role of unions in securing better minimum standards through awards and legislation.