The gift that keeps on giving, $500 million I hope in compensation and fines.
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Qantas faces multimillion-dollar bill over illegally firing 1700 workers
Qantas is facing a multimillion-dollar bill after it was found guilty of illegally firing 1700 workers during the Covid pandemic.
Adelaide Langless than 2 min read
March 18, 2024 - 12:11PM
NCA NewsWire
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‘You did nothing wrong’: Tony Burke supports workers who were illegally sacked by QantasEmbattled airline Qantas is facing a multimillion-dollar compensation bill after it was found guilty of illegally firing 1700 workers during the Covid pandemic.
The Federal Court ruled in 2021 that the airline had acted unlawfully when it sacked the ground services employees of 11 airports in 2020 and outsourced their roles to contractors.
The matter returned to court on Monday to determine compensation after the High Court rejected Qantas’ attempt to appeal the verdict.
Outside court, Transport Workers Union lawyer Josh Bornstein estimated the payments for sacked workers would be “very, very substantial, running into the many millions of dollars”.
He said the hearing, which will run over the next week, would determine the cost for breaching workplace laws “in such a spectacular way”.
The enormity of the possible compensation payout reflects Qantas being guilty of the largest illegal sacking in Australia’s corporate history.
Qantas has been found guilty of illegally sacking 1700 workers. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David SwiftParliamentary secretary for industrial relations Mark Buttigieg said the ruling against the airline was a “damning indictment against a once great company”.
He noted Qantas accepted $800m of taxpayer funds to keep people employed before they unlawfully sacked 1700 staff.
“I hope Qantas learns from this lesson, this litany of failures, and treating employees so shabbily and comes to the party to do the right thing,” the Labor MP said.
Former employee Don Dixon told reporters that he hoped it would finally be the end of a three-year legal battle with the airline.
“Probably the most fundamental thing for all the workers I represent is we did absolutely nothing wrong,” he said.
In a statement, Qantas repeated its apology to the 1700 affected workers and reaffirmed its commitment to reaching an agreement.
“Qantas sincerely apologises and deeply regrets the personal impact the outsourcing decision had on these former employees,” a spokesperson said.
“We want them to receive fair compensation as quickly as possible.”
TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said the 1700 workers have “been through hell” after being unlawfully sacked three years ago.
“It’s time for Qantas to pay up,” he said.
Justice Michael Lee will hear three test cases in order to determine the amount of compensation to be paid to the illegally sacked workers.