A plumbing union organiser has denied physically assaulting a woman over contract negotiations, after she broke down at the trade union royal commission.
Capital Hydraulics and Drains manager Nikki Lo Re cried at a hearing of the commission in Canberra when recalling the incident last year, when she alleges she was physically and verbally abused by CEPU ACT organiser Matt McCann.
She says Mr McCann turned up at her office and stood over her while she sat at her desk, shouting aggressively about her employees' unwillingness to sign an enterprise bargaining agreement.
"Whether he accidentally knocked me or barged me, I suppose that depends on who was there," she told the commission on Thursday.
Her version of events was corroborated by former receptionist Deana Stegnjaic who said Mrs Lo Re was distraught after being "shoulder-barged" by Mr McCann.
Mr McCann "absolutely and utterly" refuted the allegation.
"I am outraged by that, absolutely outraged, it never happened and I am disgusted that those allegations have been raised against me," he told the commission.
He admitted raising his voice, but only after Mrs Lo Re did, saying both of them "lost their cool".
"I didn't see any evidence of any sort of crying or you know, quaking in her boots," he said.
The commission has heard the union pressured businesses in Canberra to sign its EBA, by threatening loss of work and using safety checks to disrupt their worksites.
It heard allegations CEPU NSW Secretary David Broadley used a man named `bulldog' to intimidate people.
Mr Broadley denied the allegations.
`Bulldog' was the union's NSW assistant secretary Theo Samartzopoulos, an "obsessive" supporter of the Canterbury Bulldogs NRL team, and was never used to intimidate people, he said.
"I deny that employees of the CEPU have behaved like thugs or that they have behaved unlawfully or in an intimidating way," he told the commission.
Mr Broadley said the union often conducted safety checks after receiving anonymous reports of safety concerns on worksites, but admitted there is no log of those reports.
He said every union encouraged its organisers to get EBAs and memberships, but denied pressuring employers to do so, saying many businesses in Canberra had not signed the EBA.
The hearing continues.
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