Union officials swore, court told

A PAIR of union officials accused of breaching workplace laws should have been dealt with for trespassing instead, the Federal Court has heard.

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union officials Kevin Harkins and Richard Hassett have been accused of swearing at and abusing a human resources manager when on a site visit to roadworks at Elwick in October 2016.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission accused them of breaching right-of-entry procedures when they went to the Hazell Bros site.

A two-day hearing was told the men called Hazell Bros managers “f---ing incompetent”, “d---heads” and shouted at them.

ABCC lawyer Rachel Walsh said the words used by Mr Harkins and Mr Hassett were “simply disgusting”.

“They could have done things lawfully, but they chose not to. There was no excuse for the way either of them behaved,” she said at a hearing this week.

Philip Bonardo, for the union officials, said the workplace laws could not have been breached because the pair were not seeking to make a lawful entry to the site under the provisions of the Fair Work Act.

A decision in the case is not expected until the Full Bench of the Federal Court hands down its ruling in a related matter.

Kevin Harkins