The Queensland inquiry into the CFMEU, which has previously heard sensational evidence of criminal infiltration, bullying and corruption in the state's construction industry, resumed on Tuesday.
Nigel Hadgkiss, a former boss of the Australian Building and Construction Commission, told the inquiry that a robust code was required to deal with problems the probe had exposed.
"Until a building contractor is more frightened of the regulator than he is of the union, there'll be no reform," Mr Hadgkiss said.
"There's a pressing need for reform of industrial practices and behaviours in the current building construction industry in Queensland.
"A code would go a long way to develop that reform."
Because contractors were reliant on work from the government, they were unable to challenge the union's power on site, he said.
"It was biting the hand that was feeding them," he said.
Counsel assisting James McLean suggested to Mr Hadgkiss that there were environments on site where the union's demands could not be satisfied.
"There's an expression, feeding the beast," Mr Hadgkiss replied.
Mr Hadgkiss also expressed his objection to union paraphernalia on site, saying it flew in the face of the principle of freedom of association.
"Flags in particular are an indication that this is a union-run site, and woe betide you if you are not a member of the union," he said.
Contractors were forced to pay not only for workers' clothing, but for the clothing to bear the logo of the CFMEU.
"There was an insistence that they put on CFMEU logos, which didn't sit comfortably with employers, but they were obliged to comply," Mr Hadgkiss said.
Earlier, Mr McLean outlined the hours of productivity lost to meetings under Best Practice Industry Conditions agreements enacted by the former Labor government.
They included daily hour-long briefings before work started, a weekly two-hour safety briefing and weekly two-hour union meetings, all paid for by contractors.
Workers had 26 rostered days off per year and would also stop work when the outside air temperature reached 29C.
Mr McLean said the result was that construction projects would lose momentum due to the ongoing loss of continuity.
The best-practice industry agreements also artificially inflated wage rates, with five per cent annual increases on top of existing rates, he said.
The agreements have since been scrapped by the David Crisafulli-led LNP government.
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