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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says industrial relations policy needs to strike the right balance to support workers and ensure businesses can survive, as he continues his push to frame the Coalition as the “party of the worker”.

Speaking to ABC’s RN Breakfast, Dutton was asked about his approach to industrial relations given his claim that Labor no longer represents workers.

He said that there were no jobs for workers if industrial relations practices “send businesses to the wall”.

Dutton said there’s been a three-fold increase in the closure of manufacturing businesses, arguing some have gone bankrupt while others have moved overseas because it’s too expensive to do business in Australia.

“We lose the economic productivity, we lose the jobs, and nobody wins in that scenario,” Dutton said.

“So we want an industrial relations system which protects workers but also makes the relationship workable between employers and employees.”

Dutton said the government’s sweeping industrial relations reforms “create a tension where there was no tension in existence before”, claiming the government is “obviously beholden to the union movement”.

“My view is that we need to get a balance right and provide that support for workers as well as make sure that businesses can survive,” he said.

But Dutton refused to confirm if an expansion of the definition of a small business from 15 to 25 employees, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was part of the Coalition’s industrial relations plan.