QUBE EA update

Last Friday, your RTBU Locomotive Division and your EA Delegates met again with Qube Management in front of Deputy President Saunders at Newcastle. 

This was our second meeting as part of the Intractable Bargaining Application. We were hopeful that Qube would have done their homework since the last meeting and presented a genuine offer. However, it was disappointing that Qube returned without any serious movement on wages. 

Where to next? – We meet again on 9 August 2024 at Newcastle, possibly for the last time. 

Deputy President Saunders made it very clear that, without serious movement on wages, this could be the last meeting before he will report back to Deputy President Wright where a determination will be made on the RTBU’s Intractable Bargaining Application. 

Deputy President Saunders issued directions to the parties as follows: 

1. by 10am on 7 August 2024, Qube must provide the RTBU (cc chambers of DP Saunders) with its written proposal addressing each of the following four issues and provide modelling to show how the loaded rates in its proposal have been developed from base rates of pay: Rates of pay on commencement of the new enterprise agreement, noting that the RTBU’s current proposal is $62.23 and Qube’s current proposal is $57.62. 
2. The quantum of an up-front payment to be made by Qube to each employee covered by the new enterprise agreement on the agreement being approved by the Fair Work Commission. 
3. Percentage increases for wage rates on the first, second and third anniversaries of the enterprise agreement. 
4. Any uplift in level 3 rates of pay. 
6. any party wishing to rely on modelling or detailed analysis at the conference on 9 August 2024 must provide the modelling or analysis to the other party (cc chambers to DP Saunders) by 10am on 7 August 2024. 

Once again, the ball is now entirely in Qube’s Court. This will be Qube’s last chance to get serious about an offer that is fair and reasonable and comparable to other operators. 

We are still awaiting on a decision from the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission about Qube’s Appeal to overturn the decision of Deputy President Cross that dismissed their s217 application to vary the 2015 and 2019 EAs to stifle the Union’s claim for penalty rates.

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