The peak body for the $150 billion franchise sector has launched an intense behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign to convince MPs to water down Turnbull government legislation designed to prevent future worker exploitation scandals.
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Spearheaded by former Liberal minister Bruce Billson, the Franchise Council of Australia is targeting the government, opposition and crossbenchers as it seeks to pressure Employment Minister Michaelia Cash into changing course on the bill.
It has also directed its members - which include 7-Eleven, Pizza Hut, Caltex and other companies accused of underpaying their workers - to bombard MPs with calls and letters about the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill.
The campaign comes as petrol giant United Petroleum became the latest company to be embroiled in an exploitation scandal, with the workplace regulator blasting it for rampant underpayment of workers across its franchise network. United Petroleum is not listed as a FCA member.
Mr Billson personally pressed the franchisor case with visits, calls and texts to MPs during the most recent parliamentary sitting fortnight in Canberra.
And in emails that have begun arriving in MP's inboxes in recent days, franchisors argue it is "unreasonable" to single out the franchising sector.
"The real issue here is that the risk of worker underpayment exists across the economy," the missives read.
The government's bill was introduced into Parliament last month but subsequently disappeared from the agenda, fuelling speculation from the Opposition that the council's campaign was succeeding.
However Senator Cash said the government remained "firmly committed to this policy".
"Workers in Australia deserve to have strong protections from exploitation and we therefore urge Labor to commit to supporting this important legislation," she told Fairfax Media.
The new laws would hold franchisors responsible for a franchisee's violations in circumstances where it had significant control or influence over them, knew or should have known about underpayments, or failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the violations.
There are also much stiffer penalties for breaches, with companies facing possible $540,000 fines.
The Franchise Council originally sought to kill off the bill entirely, warning it would lead to unavoidable unintended consequences.
It is now arguing for extensive amendments and is particularly concerned about the world-first "joint liability" provisions, claiming they will negatively impact investment, growth and employment.
It also wants courts and regulators to be explicitly forced to take a businesses size and resources into account, and further clarity about what "reasonable steps" actually means.
Council CEO Damian Paull said the current system was effective, pointing to a $146,000 penalty levelled against Yogurberry for exploiting four Korean workers last year.
"The diversity of franchise systems means that it is false to assume that all have control or influence over the workplace relations over local small business franchisees," he said.
Mr Billson himself was not available for comment.
It's understood the government will seek to pass the bill as early as next month, after a brief Senate inquiry.
But Labor's Brendan O'Connor says the inquiry does not explain why the bill was removed from the government's legislative agenda last month.
"The government doesn't take worker exploitation seriously," he said.
"Malcolm Turnbull has had ample opportunity to tackle worker exploitation by passing legislation in the Parliament but has failed to do so instead placing a higher priority on trying to give tax cuts to some of those companies who exploit workers."
Franchises employ close to 500,000 people across 73,000 outlets across Australia and contribute up to 10 per cent of Australia's GDP.
The council says 95 per cent of franchisors are small businesses.
