Pubs support sacked CUB workers
A number of pubs have turned off their taps in support of workers sacked by Melbourne-based Carlton and United Breweries (CUB).
In June, 55 maintenance workers at CUB were called to a meeting and informed without prior notice that they were terminated. The workers were then ‘invited’ to reapply for their jobs with a company called Catalyst Recruitment, which is in the Programmed/Skilled Group.
The invitation to apply for a job:
- came with no guarantees;
- was based on individual contracts underpinned by a barely compliant non-union EA;
- involved a massive reduction of terms and conditions, including an approximate 65% reduction in monetary entitlements.
The workers have been on the picket line ever since..but not without support. The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) which represents the workers has called for a boycott of CUB products and a number of pubs have responded by ceasing to offer Carlton Draught, Crown Lager and Victoria Bitter.
In Melbourne, the popular Lincoln Hotel and Kent Street Bar are among those supporting the boycott. Further afield Queensland-based Grand Hotel Yamanto took to Facebook to show its support for the sacked workers.
“We have currently taken Victoria Bitter Australia off our taps and won’t be selling any CUB products across our bars to show our support for the 55 workers that were sacked. Could you survive on 65% of the wage you’ll receive this week?” said the pub’s administrator Michael Falvey.
E-bulletin readers wanting to find other ways of supporting the CUB workers should go to https://www.etuvic.com.au/content/cub-workers.
