Kevin Rudd has announced plans to strip unions of their political power within the Labor party, sending several into crisis-mode.

The Prime Minister announced late yesterday that he would be reforming the way internal ballots for the Labor party leader are held. He will split the decision 50:50 between rank-and-file members and caucus members. The reforms should see the prevention of union-backed leadership spills which have marked the party in recent years.

A union leader in NSW echoed the sentiments of the entire movement, saying: ''We don't like being taken for granted.''

Six trade unions have announced an emergency meeting in Canberra this Friday to discuss the changes. Australian Workers Union head Paul Howes publicly endorsed the Rudd reforms on Tuesday, but some reports say unions wanted to retain a third of the votes for leader, as in the British Labour model.

Bill Shorten - a big player in the 2010 overthrow of Mr Rudd - has backed the idea. The Education Minister said: ''It is time to modernise the way the party picks its leaders.''

Unions are also reportedly concerned they will lose their control over who is given Senate and upper house seats, one report has quoted a member saying they were unsure if the reforms were a ''starting point or an end point.''

Many outside of the party have praised the planned reforms, saying it is a move toward stability and that union involvement in the party’s shadow has traditionally made voters wary of Labor.