Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd says the Coalition is being "arrogant" if it thinks it can stand in the way of his Government's workplace reforms.
Senior Coalition figures admit that Labor now has a mandate to abolish WorkChoices, but they warn that Senate support for the ALP's changes is not guaranteed.
The Coalition will retain control the Senate until July next year but Mr Rudd says Opposition senators must listen to the voters.
"There could not be greater clarity about what we stand for and propose," he said.
"Are the Liberals still so out of touch with working people in Australia that they think they have a mandate to retain WorkChoices?
"Is that the sort of arrogant statement we're hearing from the Liberals two or three days after an election?"
Earlier the former workplace relations minister Joe Hockey said he believed Labor had a clear mandate to get rid of the IR legislation.
"The Labor Party has a mandate to tear up WorkChoices," he said.
