Labor and the Greens have locked in behind the tribunal which sets minimum pay rates for truck owner-drivers, setting the scene for a stoush with the government when parliament is recalled and during the election.

On Tuesday evening Guardian Australia reported the government would bring forward legislation to abolish the road safety remuneration tribunal in the week parliament is recalled on 18 April, instead of attempting to abolish it after the election.

On Wednesday the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and the employment minister, Michaelia Cash, formally announced the government would bring on two bills: one to abolish the tribunal; and a second bill to delay its minimum pay order as a fallback.

“Tens of thousands of owner truck drivers, many of whom have taken out mortgages to buy their trucks, face being driven out of business by the [tribunal],” they said in a statement. “Any threat to the industry will have large flow-on effects on consumers.”

On Wednesday Greens industrial relations spokesman, Adam Bandt, said it would “not be party to the government’s push to make the roads less safe”.

“If the government believes that the only way of dealing with any problems [arising from the] tribunal’s order is to abolish the legislation then it’s clear what the government’s true motives are,” he said.

“Faced with one small group of people who complain about now potentially having to pay fair rates of pay to the people who work for them, the government’s response is to strip people’s rights at work and attack safety on the roads. That gives you an indication of what’s coming up at this election.”

Opposition leader, Bill Shorten, backed setting minimum pay rates because if pay is too low “you increase the chances for fatalities and serious injuries in the heavy vehicle sector”.

“The government wants you to believe that somehow owner-drivers who, on average, receive $32,000 a year compared to employee drivers on $56,000 a year, that they want to keep getting $32,000 a year,” he said.

Shorten questioned if Turnbull was prepared to scrap the independent tribunal and truckies’ minimum pay orders, whether he would use it as a precedent if the fair work commission increased penalty rates or shift loadings.

“Labor sees the case that if there’s real angst in the community amongst customers and some of the long distance trucking companies, there’s always [the possibility of] compromise,” he said. Shorten repeated Labor’s offer to consider a compromise on the time taken to roll out minimum pay rates.

“You look at the industry submissions, look at the evidence, look at legitimate concerns about the rollout of a minimum wages order ... That’s the Labor way, common sense, middle grounds.”

The comments from Labor and the Greens mean the government will probably need more crossbench support to abolish the road safety remuneration tribunal.

The government originally proposed to delay the pay order and abolish the tribunal after the election. Senator Glenn Lazarus forced the issue by calling for the immediate abolition of the tribunal, which was backed by Jacqui Lambie.

So far five of eight crossbench senators have expressed support to abolish the tribunal. Senators Dio Wang, Ricky Muir and John Madigan have not supported abolishing it, instead favouring delay of the pay order.

The government also announced a temporary financial counselling hotline to provide advice for owner-drivers who have been negatively affected by the payment order.