Transport Workers Union (TWU) members in Western Australia and Victoria will stop work for 24 hours this week, risking supply shortages of beer during the Australia day long weekend.

Drivers for Qube Logistics will strike on 21 January, after workers voted in favour of protected industrial action earlier this month.

These workers transport key inputs used in the production of Coca-Cola, Asahi beer, Mondelēz chocolates and plastic products. The union said disruption to supply chains is expected if Qube continues to refuse drivers’ demands on wages, conditions, and a consolidated agreement that aligns WA drivers with their Victorian counterparts.

“This dispute is not about handouts or luxuries. It is about a fair national agreement that delivers decent pay and safe working conditions in line with industry expectations,” TWU said.

“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.

“The industry is at a crossroads. If current trends continue, operators who pay properly and invest in safety will be driven out of business, while companies winning tenders will do so by cutting wages, undermining job security and putting lives at risk.”

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: “Qube, who have recorded year-on-year profit increases, need to come back to the negotiation table and get serious.”

A Qube spokesman said: “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% over the next three years and then they walked away from the negotiating table.

“We urge the union to urgently resume negotiations so that we can resolve this dispute in the best interests of workers.”

Qube also said it has alternative supply arrangements in place if the strike action proceeds to mitigate any impacts to customers, supply chains or consumers.

In 2026, more than 200 transport enterprise agreements will align to the same expiry date, which the TWU said would give workers unprecedented power to hold major operators and supply chains accountable for the standards they set.