Critical safeguards to protect workers must be included in a free trade agreement between Australia and China before it receives bipartisan support, Labor says.

A motion to explore “every possible option” for removing faults in the agreement passed without objection at the ALP national conference on Friday, just hours after union members rallied and called on Labor to reject the FTA in its current form.

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In his opening speech to the conference Labor leader Bill Shorten said opposition trade spokeswoman Penny Wong would spearhead the fight for the best trade agreement between Australia and China.

He vowed Labor would fight, strong in its belief in free trade and new job opportunities, and “equally strong in upholding safety standards, Australian wages and Australian jobs”.

Labor wants to ensure Australian workers are not disadvantaged and restricted from accessing work, that Chinese workers are not exploited and that all workers in Australia have the skills to do their jobs safely.

Senator Wong said Trade Minister Andrew Robb had to explain why those elements were not included in the agreement, which has already been signed-off by both nations.

“When the enabling legislation comes before the parliament we will seek to ensure that critical safeguards that Andrew Robb took out are there, including labour market testing and mandatory skills assessment,” she said.

Delegates also successfully carried a motion by federal MP Pat Conroy, committing Labor in government to review investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions in existing trade and investment agreements, and to work with trading partners to remove the provisions.

Senator Wong said Australians were rightly concerned about the provisions, referring to legal action being taken by tobacco company Philip Morris.

The company has brought proceedings against the Australian government because of ISDS provisions in the Australia-Hong Kong Bilateral Investment Treaty.

NSW delegate Paul Bastian said the provisions were not in Australia’s interest and did not support democratic sovereignty principles.

“Trade agreements should never put corporations’ rights above the rights of the state to legislate for the benefit of citizens,” he said.

More than 100 union members rallied earlier on Friday seeking amendments to the FTA in its current state, including safeguarding the rights of workers to belong to unions.

Electrical Trades Union national secretary Allen Hicks said union opposition to the China agreement wasn’t about keeping foreign workers out of Australia, it was about protecting them from exploitation.

CFMEU national secretary Dave Noonan says the unions won’t accept a situation in which the fundamental human rights of workers are negotiated behind closed doors.

“That’s not the Australian way, that’s not the democratic way,” he told the cheering crowd.

But the CFMEU has launched a television advertising campaign in which it says the FTA “allows Chinese companies to bring in its own workers, leaving Australian workers without a hope”.

Comment is being sought from the government.