Qube Logistics drivers in Western Australia and Victoria will stop work for 24 hours this week, putting supplies of Coca-Cola, Mondelēz chocolates and Asahi beer at risk during the Australia day long weekend, warned the Transport Workers Union (TWU).
The union said the truckies, who transport key inputs used in the production of Coca-Cola, Asahi beer, Mondelēz chocolates and plastic products, will strike from 5am in both states from Wednesday, January 21, after pay talks broke down.
“This dispute is not about handouts or luxuries,” the TWU said in a media statement.
“It is about a fair national agreement that delivers decent pay and safe working conditions in line with industry expectations.
“Some drivers participating in the strike have not seen a fair wage increase since 2022, with wages falling behind inflation and going backwards in real terms.”
According to a TWU social media post, the Qube drivers are seeking the $25 daily site allowance to be rolled into the base hourly rate, a pathway for superannuation lifted to 15 per cent and a single, consolidated agreement across WA and Victoria.
TWU WA State Secretary Tim Dawson said consolidating the Qube agreement nationally is a critical part of the union’s 2026 plan to lift standards across the industry.
“Transport is already Australia’s deadliest industry. Fragmented agreements and cost-cutting only make it worse,” Dawson said.
“The TWU has a plan for 2026. Consolidating agreements like Qube’s across states is how we stop the race to the bottom and protect safe, sustainable jobs.”
TWU VIC/TAS Director of Organising, Sam Lynch said workers’ wages are falling behind.
“Qube, who have recorded year-on-year profit increases, need to come back to the negotiation table and get serious,” Lynch said.
A Qube spokesperson said it is disappointing that the union is trying to mount a “phony scare campaign” rather than engaging in good faith negotiations in the interests of the workers.
“The truth is the TWU have rejected a wage offer that would have seen workers covered by agreements in Victoria and WA achieve a wage increase of more than 12 per cent over the next three years and then they walked away from the negotiating table,” the spokesperson said in a statement,
“We urge the union to urgently resume negotiations so that we can resolve this dispute in the best interests of workers.”
Qube said the company has alternative supply arrangements in place should the proposed industrial action proceed.
The proposed protected industrial action would likely involve just five drivers in WA and up to 12 drivers in Victoria, the company added.