QUBE suffers buyer’s remorse

Members will have received another Memorandum dated 12 July 2023 from Dan Coulton this afternoon, a copy of which is attached to this Newsflash. Finally, QUBE have disclosed their real intentions behind their cowardly backflip from the in-principal agreement reached on 26 June 2023. 

QUBE have offered employees an agreement on the exact same terms as the in-principal agreement of 26 June 2023, except the pay rises have been slashed from 6%, 5% and 5% to 4%, 4% and 4%. 

Even though QUBE states they are “confident” they will defeat the Union’s “disingenuous” Federal Court claim, they still have taken the opportunity to slash the proposed increases to rates of pay. This is a fairly transparent attempt to weasel out of pay rises that were agreed before the Fair Work Commission. 

Alternatively, QUBE have offered an extra 1% for members to give up their entitlement to penalty rates moving forward – a pretty ordinary attempt at settling proceedings where employees have a good chance at claiming 10’s of thousands of dollars each year. The Union had proposed an extra 10% as a compromise position, but that was immediately rejected by QUBE. 

Ultimately, even if QUBE had proposed an offer today that members could live with, there’s no guarantee that QUBE would then honour a second in-principle agreement. QUBE’s unreasonable behaviour and breach of good faith has made bargaining a very difficult process. 

Remember QUBE had the Federal Court papers before the in-principal agreement was reached on 26 June 2023. 

Next Steps 

Despite the fluff from QUBE, there is nothing stopping QUBE from honouring the in-principal agreement of 26 June 2023 and starting the EA voting process immediately. The Union stands by its previously provided support for the agreement reached on 26 June 2023. 

If that vote were to occur, the RTBU Federal Court case will run its course and (if QUBE are as confident as they say) there’s nothing for QUBE to worry about in that process. 

In any case, your delegates will be meeting tomorrow to discuss QUBE’s offer and agree upon the types of Protected Industrial Action that should be taken to support your claims. Please contact your delegates and provide any feedback you may have on QUBE’s latest ‘offers’. 

Alternatively, you can get in touch with Dan Coulton and let him know that you expect QUBE to honour the 26 June Agreement! 

Remember, only RTBU members will benefit from a settlement of the Federal Court underpayment claim – so if you’re not a member you might miss out on thousands. 

Download the Memorandum here.

Download the Newsflash here.