Union asked for set rates: concreter

The head of a concreting company has revealed how builders in the Canberra industry were made to sign a collective agreement which set prices.

Multi-Crete director Clive Arona told the royal commission on Wednesday business heads met with the CFMEU on various occasions in late 2013 and early 2014 to decide on the enterprise bargaining agreement.

It included above-award redundancy pay and set prices for concreting jobs, per cubic and square metre.

Those companies with an EBA were left alone by the union, he said, admitting it was costly to his business but guaranteed a level playing field.

You wouldn't be able to operate in Canberra if you didn't sign one, he added.

"Is it that the builder wants a quiet life, no unwelcome visits from union officials," commissioner Dyson Heydon put it to Mr Arona.

"Yes," the concreter replied.

The witness also detailed to the hearing how he paid $5000 for a Tongan community event, thinking it would improve relations with Halafihi `Fihi' Kivalu, a then CFMEU organiser.

The commission has already heard claims from several business heads who paid Mr Kivalu thousands of dollars in cash envelopes and cheque handovers at McDonald's outlets in order to secure work in Canberra.

Mr Arona backed up a version of events put forward by form-working company owner Elias Taleb, who said on Monday he'd handed over money to Mr Kivalu totalling $135,000.

The former organiser's lawyer put it to Mr Arona that he and Mr Kivalu were friends outside of work and a meeting he said took place with Mr Taleb at Gungahlin never happened.

Mr Arona insisted it occurred and he saw money exchanged between the pair.

Another witness, project manager Rodney Peachey, told the commission on Wednesday he had regular coffee catchups with Mr Kivalu to "keep the peace" with the union.

His company at the time, Denham, would go with sub-contractors who had an EBA, thinking it was a "security blanket".

"It also meant that Denham was less likely to experience union disruption on its work site," he said in his witness statement.

Mr Kivalu's legal team asked for more time to prepare his witness statement, which was expected to be given to the commission at close of business on Wednesday.