The claims were made as the union involved in the dispute said Australia's right-of-entry laws needed ''radical improvement'' and were not comparable to those in other democratic countries.
Leo Skourdoumbis, the furnishing products secretary at the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, said the laws in this area were little improved from WorkChoices.
In a statement of claim in the Federal Court, the union organisers said they arrived at the car park of the Melbourne Safety Glass site near Clayton when they were confronted. They allege that the employer, Steven Vasiljevic jnr, refused them entry to the site, despite their having given the employer more than 24 hours' notice. ''You've got no f---ing members here, so you can f--- off. You are not coming in.''
When pressed, Mr Vasiljevic jnr demanded to know which of his employees was a member of the union, it is alleged, and then told them again to leave the site and gestured for them to leave. ''I've already f---ing told you. You're not coming in here, so f--- off.''
Later, it is alleged he pointed at an organiser and told him he was ''f---ing wrong. I'm coming after you.'' The organiser, Andrew Vendramini, asked if he was coming after the union or the organisers and it is alleged he said: ''I'm coming after you.''
Melbourne Safety Glass spokesman Rajeev Perera would not comment as the case was now a legal matter.
In a cross-claim, the company denied every allegation in the exchange and alleges instead that Mr Vasiljevic jnr had asked the organisers to hold the meeting on a ''particular part of the site'' - which was refused. The organisers then left on their own volition.
In the cross-claim, the glass company alleges the union had attempted to force its employees to join the union. It is alleged organisers told employees if they did not join they would shut down the business and all the jobs would be lost.
They also gave ''misleading representations'' to the employees on their obligations to become members of the union.
The union has claimed that workers were being under-paid and Fair Work Australia recently rejected an enterprise agreement at the company as it had not notified employees of some of their rights.
Meanwhile, the ACTU said it would intervene at Fair Work Australia today in support of an application from the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union to take industrial action at Australia Post.
The CEPU had been thwarted in attempts to have a vote of members on industrial action. ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence said it was a ''fundamental democratic principle'' that workers be allowed to vote without interference from their employer.
From The Age by Ben Schneiders
