Thuggery and intimidation on Victorian building sites are costing developers and taxpayers money, Attorney-General Robert Clark says.
Fairfax Media reports a union boss threatened to shut down a Melbourne building site unless his best friend and brother-in-law were given $70,000-a-year jobs.
Mr Clark says corruption on building sites was "undermining the rule of law" in Victoria.
"Victorians have for many years been paying the price for thuggery, stand over tactics in the building industry," Mr Clark told reporters on Thursday.
Peter Chiavaroli, developer of the Pentridge prison site in Coburg, said Construction Forestry Mining and Energy union state secretary John Setka forced him to hire his friend Anton Sucic, and then his brother-in-law Ivan Dadic.
"I told them I had already made arrangements and I had interviewed someone who was going to start next Wednesday. Setka said, `no that is not going to happen'," Mr Chiavaroli told Fairfax Media.
But CFMEU national secretary Dave Noonan said Mr Sucic was a qualified builder, trained in occupational health and safety.
He told ABC radio the union had pushed to unionise what he called the "unsafe" Pentridge prison site after a worker died.
Mr Noonan also said there was no intimidation present in the recorded conversation between Mr Setka and Mr Chiavaroli.
Mr Chiavaroli is due to present his evidence, including taped conversations, to the royal commission into union corruption next week.
Mr Noonan said evidence to be presented at the royal commission should not be leaked to media outlets.
"What we're going to see is a lot of vague and unsubstantiated allegations," Mr Noonan said.
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