Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese will ask his party to expel John Setka after the union leader reportedly made comments disparaging the work of anti-violence campaigner Rosie Batty.

Key points: Mr Albanese has asked party officials to suspend Mr Setka's membership immediately

Mr Albanese has asked party officials to suspend Mr Setka's membership immediately Mr Setka has been under pressure for reportedly saying Ms Batty's work had damaged men's rights

Mr Setka has been under pressure for reportedly saying Ms Batty's work had damaged men's rights ACTU secretary Sally McManus said Mr Setka must resign if a newspaper report about his comments is true

Mr Setka, who is the Victorian secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), has been under mounting pressure after The Age newspaper reported he told a union meeting that men had fewer rights because of Ms Batty's work.

Mr Albanese said he had written to Labor's national executive asking for Mr Setka's expulsion at its next meeting in July.

He has also asked for Mr Setka's membership to be suspended immediately.

"John Setka does not belong in our party because of the views that he holds," Mr Albanese said this morning.

Mr Setka has not responded to the ABC's request for comment but in an article in the New Daily, he called the allegations an "outright lie" and said he would not stand down from the union leadership.

"I've been elected by the union members. They are my bosses. If they want me to leave I will step down tomorrow," he said.

"But I am not going stand down over innuendo and lies people have made up. This is dirty ALP politics."

Mr Setka previously told The Age his comments had been taken out of context.

In a statement released earlier, Mr Albanese said he was taking action for a range of reasons, including Mr Setka's recent comments about Ms Batty.

"These comments are completely incompatible with the values of the Labor Party and the broader labour movement," he said.

"The party that I lead stands against the scourge of family violence and strongly supports Ms Batty's campaigning on this important issue."

'There's plenty more where John Setka came from'

Mr Setka has been under pressure to resign as the head of the Victorian construction union after reports he criticised the work of Rosie Batty. ( AAP: Julian Smith, file photo )

Mr Albanese's intervention comes after Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus said Mr Setka "must resign" if the report about his speech was true.

"If any of these allegation[s] are correct, John Setka must resign," she said.

"There is no place for perpetuators of domestic violence in leadership positions in our movement."

Ms Batty described the reported comments yesterday as "ludicrous" and said the union boss's leadership should be challenged as a result.

Speaking on Radio National, Ms Batty backed moves by Mr Albanese to expel Mr Setka.

"The Labor Party … make bold statements about family violence being an unacceptable scourge on our society," she said.

"So we cannot, if we make those statements, stand by and make excuses or allowances or ignore."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Mr Setka should resign from his position at the construction union.

"Of course he should and he should have a long time ago," Mr Morrison said.

"But I can tell you, I mean, they can root out one Labor thug in the union movement but there's plenty more where John Setka came from."

Earlier this year, Mr Setka was charged with using a carriage service to harass a woman.

Mr Albanese said his decision to move to expel the union boss from the ALP was unrelated to those court proceedings.

"I want to make it clear that this decision to move his expulsion does not relate to any matter that is currently before the courts," he said.

Victoria moves to take Setka off building board

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he supported the actions taken by his federal counterpart.

Mr Setka has been criticised from all sides of politics over the reported comments. ( AAP: Joe Castro, file photo )

"Rosie Batty is a person of great courage who has fundamentally changed the way our country views and acts on family violence. She is rightly admired by all Australians," he said in a statement.

"The comments made about her by Mr Setka are disgraceful and his refusal to apologise for them is appalling. They cannot be defended in any context."

The Victorian Government is now taking steps to remove Mr Setka from the high-level Building Industry Consultative Committee.

The Opposition had earlier criticised the Andrews Government for keeping Mr Setka on the advisory board.

"We've seen Anthony Albanese show a strength of character and judgement that Daniel Andrews just doesn't have," Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien said.

"While Albanese is sacking John Setka, Daniel Andrews is backing John Setka."