Unions were committed to changing workplace laws because they are "no longer strong enough to guarantee and protect workers' rights".

"We will do so through advocating changes to the laws and rules that govern the workplace."

'Withdraw comments'

On the day she was elected to replace Dave Oliver as ACTU secretary, Ms McManus told ABC there was "no way" the ACTU would "distance" itself from the CFMEU which is regularly taken to court for breaches of industrial law.

"It might be illegal industrial action according to our current laws - and our current laws are wrong. It shouldn't be so hard for workers in our country to be able to take industrial action when they need to," she said.

"I believe in the rule of law where the law is fair, when the law is right. But when it's unjust, I don't think there's a problem with breaking it."

Business and labour leaders had clashed with Ms McManus over her comments, calling on her to reconsider her position and accusing her of being under the influence of the militant Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.

Master Builders Association chief executive Wilhelm Harnisch called on Ms McManus to withdraw the comments to ABC's 730 on Wednesday.


"If she doesn't, it shows the CFMEU has captured the ACTU," he said.

"If this was meant to be a big bang statement at the beginning of her tenure then it's been highly successful but she has failed [in] leadership in doing so."

Unions must 'moderate' McManus views

Mr Harnisch said Ms McManus' comments, which were welcomed by the CFMEU, showed "contempt towards what made Australia great and must be condemned".

"The comments, if they are serious, will damage Australia's reputation to overseas investors. There's a proper way for individuals and unions to oppose laws they don't like and that's called the ballot box and through the parliament."

He called on her to retract her position and for other "responsible" unions to seek to moderate her views.

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive James Pearson said he hoped to work constructively with Ms McManus but was concerned about the CFMEU's influence over her.

"This is a disturbing sign, that on the first day in the new job of the new ACTU leadership that the spirit of the CFMEU, an organisation that's recognised for its readiness to break the law and its thuggish behaviour, is infecting the senior leadership of the ACTU."


'Shaking things up'

Many union leaders backed Ms McManus over her comments.

The chairman of industry super fund NGS Super and former Independent Education Union secretary, Dick Shearman, backed Ms McManus' position.

"Being prepared to beak unjust laws is a well established moral position not restricted to trade unions," he tweeted​ on Thursday. ​"Sally McManus is on solid ground."

NGS Super is the industry fund for non-government teachers and community organisations. It has $7 million in funds under management and 100,000 members.

However, some union leaders contacted by The Australian Financial Review privately expressed concern about her phrasing in the interview, although they were sympathetic towards her frustration at "restrictive" laws on taking industrial action.

They said Ms McManus' comments were part of the union leader's populist style and were intended to "shake things up" and re-energise members.

Shorten must say which laws are 'bad'


Opposition leader Bill Shorten, who as workplace relations minister in 2013 declined to repudiate the Maritime Union of Australia's comments that "laws need to be broken", distanced himself from Ms McManus' comments.

"I just don't agree".

"If you don't like a law, if you think a law is unjust, use the democratic process to get it changed", he said. "We believe in changing bad laws, not breaking them".

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash argued Mr Shorten's comments, in light of Ms McManus' desire to reduce employers' bargaining power and ease limits on industrial action, were a "a significant admission that he now proposes to roll back substantial elements of the workplace laws that were put in place by the previous Labor Government".

"Now that he has made this admission, Mr Shorten needs to make clear which of Labor's own laws are the 'bad laws' that he now says need to be changed, and why he is allowing law-breaking unions to determine his workplace relations agenda."

She said Ms McManus' comments showed she was "a law unto herself".

"This is an extraordinary admission by a newly minted union leader that she believes she is above the law and that unions can pick and choose when they obey the law and when they do not."

"All reasonable Australians fundamentally understand that a key pillar of our peaceful, democratic society is adherence to the rule of law. Ms McManus has tonight belled the cat on the principles of militant unions in Australia: they will obey the law if and when they choose."


'Sally was right'

Senator Derryn Hinch, who voted last year to restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission, said "you are entitled to break an unjust law but then face the consequences. Like go to jail- as some of us have."

Greens industrial relations spokesperson Adam Bandt said he hoped Ms McManus' "intervention" prompted Labor to rethink its support for "unjust labour laws" in the Fair Work Act.

"Of course, we can't all just pick and choose which laws we want to follow, but our labour laws breach international law and you can't condemn people who get punished under them.

"Sally McManus was rightly making the point that today, many workers are getting punished for doing no more than advancing their rights at work, which they are entitled to do under international laws that Australia has signed up to."

Ms McManus said in the interview that often when construction workers stopped work it was because a worker had been killed on a building site.

"And know this: that union gets fined more than the companies that actually kill workers. So Grocon got fined $330,000 for killing five workers, where the CFMEU got fined even more. And I just think that's totally wrong."

The ACTU secretary was in executive meetings with union leaders on Thursday and was unavailable to comment further.

Her comments came as both conservative and left-wing sides of the union movement appear to have reached a tipping point with their frustrations over the Fair Work Act.

Earlier this month, the CFMEU energy division labelled the system "broken" and called for easing of restrictions on bargaining and industrial action at the next election.