QUBE Members Enterprise Agreement Update

On Tuesday 25 October 2022, your Locomotive Division Enterprise Agreement Committee met with QUBE Management to continue bargaining for your replacement Enterprise Agreement. 

At this meeting QUBE Management presented a proposal for an Annualised Salary, which in their view provides a simple way to remove uncertainty around pay. This proposal was unexpected as there has been no discussion of an Annualised Salary during bargaining to date. 

While an Annualised Salary might sound attractive, the devil is in the detail. QUBE’s proposal includes the following: 

• The Duty Cycle to be 80hrs per fortnight instead of 76hrs with the additional 4hrs not attracting overtime as they currently do
• Overtime rate to be reduced from 1.6 to 1.4 times your rate of pay
• Removal of overtime when working past 2200hrs before starting Annual Leave
• Removal of overtime if you start before 0600hrs when finishing Annual Leave
• Only being paid 1.4 when working certain Public Holidays (Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day). All other public holidays will be incorporated into the Annual Salary
• Removal of the standalone payment when a Public Holiday falls on an RDO
• Reducing Personal/Career’s Leave from 15 to 10 days per year 
• Removal of Make Up Pay when attending Jury Service
• Removal of the Driver Specialist Level 6
• Removal of the 18% for DOO and 9% for Push Pull Allowances
• A reduction of the overtime rate from 1.6 to 1.4 when working past 80hrs in a Duty Cycle
• A reduction of the overtime rate from 1.6 to 1.4 when working on RDO’s
• 2.5% per year wage increase based on the Annual Salary
• Removal of the Golden Weekend from the EA
• Available Day use to increase to 1 per week instead of 1 per fortnight
• Removal of all Shift Changes from the EA
• Reduction of Cancelled Shift payment from 7.6hrs to 6hrs
• No standalone overtime payment for working outside of Lift Up or Lay Back 
• Removal of all Alterations and the associated overtime payment 
• Removal of the overtime payment when working past your rostered shift 
• Removal of the Wasted Meal Allowance
• Removal of Higher Duties
• Removal of Local WorkingRemoval of the 40hr pattern span when Barracks Working and overtime payment
• Removal of the Barracks Working provision that provides for the next turn of duty to return to your Home Base
• Removal of the Barracks Detention payment after 12hrs in Barracks 
• An increase to Barracking Working meal allowance from $34.25 per each 8hrs or part thereof to $165 per day, with no yearly increase 
• An increase to the Temporary Transfer Allowance from $132.46 to $165 with no yearly increase 
• The first RDO to commence at 2200hrs instead of 0001hrs and then 24hrs each additional RDO from 0600hrs 

Your EA Bargaining Team showed great restraint in remaining calm and composed throughout the presentation before launching into questions. Your Bargaining Team led off by questioning what figures are attached to each classification for the Annualised Salary as QUBE’s proposal lacked this basic detail. Alarmingly, QUBE advised that they didn’t have any figures as they were simply enquiring if this proposal would be acceptable and what items/entitlements they believed could be sacrificed to achieve an Annualised Salary. 

Bargaining Reps made it clear, that without the provision of all necessary detail and the endorsement of Locomotive Division Members any consideration of an Annualised Salary cannot occur. 

QUBE Management then provided a “ballpark” figure of $120k for a Level 4 Driver. Your EA Bargaining Team took some time alone to discuss the proposal and the many items/entitlements that QUBE are attempting to vary and or remove noting that once an entitlement goes, it is hard to get it back. 

Your EA Bargaining Team put 2 options back to QUBE Management:

1. We could undertake a Depot Tour to discuss and gather feedback from Members. Your Bargaining Team made it clear that they did not believe members would ever accept an obvious and blatant “conditions grab”. 

2. Scrap this proposal and continue with proper and constructive negotiations. 

Some quick calculations based on the $120K “ballpark” figure highlighted just how far off the mark QUBE is with their proposal. Upon this realisation, QUBE Management proposed that they “go away and crunch some numbers” before getting back to your EA Bargaining Team early next week. 

We also took the opportunity to reminded QUBE that they clearly still have a lot of work to do as this proposal doesn’t include any items from member’s endorsed Log of Claims or address the items highlighted in the completed Rostering Survey. 

Regardless of QUBE’s next steps, members will continue to set the direction for your Bargaining Team in these negotiations. 

With the Enterprise Agreement expiring on 31 March 2023, now is the time to prepare to fight to achieve the positive outcome members deserve. Only RTBU Members can participate in any Protected Industrial Ballot or take Protected Industrial Action if approved. 

Members will continue to be advised of any and all developments as they occur. 

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