The woman believed the union worker carried out some of his threats after she refused his requests.

"He rubbished my reputation online, contacted my staff and suppliers saying bad things about me and destroyed my credibility," she said.

The woman said although the initial contact and text message exchange were in late 2018, the harassment had continued.

She said that she "couldn't take it any more" and filed a complaint with the union staff on July 10.

"I have been suffering from depression because of this in the past two years, I've had to wind up my businesses and I'm also not in a mental state to work," the woman said.

The suspended union staff member denied any wrongdoing and said the woman's complaint were "all lies".

"She made up fake chats and set me up and I have gone to the police about her," he said.

"My lawyers are also handling the matter."

When approached, a police spokeswoman said police "cannot respond to queries which seek to establish whether a specific individual or organisation is, or has been, under police investigation".