Unions superglued site padlocks: court

Union officials allegedly superglued padlocks at a Brisbane construction site to stop workers entering during a strike.

Construction workers who tried to get into the South Brisbane building site were verbally abused and their futures in the industry threatened, according to court documents.

Federal regulator Fair Work Building & Construction (FWBC) has taken the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union to court claiming the union engaged in coercive behaviour.

The allegations arise from a strike at a Queensland government housing project last month.

FWBC claims union officials allegedly used cars to block the entrance to the construction site, which was a 14-level building with 146 apartments, and abused workers who tried to enter.

The matter has been set down for a directions hearing in the Federal Court in Brisbane on May 2.