Australian Court Rules Dismissal Of 1,700 Employees By Qantas During Pandemic Breaks The Law

Illustration of the Qantas airline fleet. (Wikimedia Commons/Aero Icarus)

JAKARTA - Australia's top court on Thursday ruled that the country's airline, Qantas Airways, violated the law by sacking 1,700 ground staff and replacing them with outsourced employees at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australia's High Court said Qantas had commercial reasons for its actions in 2020, the peak of border closures caused by the pandemic, but violated industry laws for "trying to thwart" the rights of employees who are members of trade unions to engage in industrial action, collectively bargaining.

A low-level Federal Court in 2021 ruled that Qantas violated the lantran law of outsourcing land handling work. However, the airline filed an appeal against the decision in the High Court which upheld the decision on Thursday. The matter is now returning to the Federal Court which will decide the penalties and compensation for the affected employees.

"These workers are in very bad shape," said Michael Kaine, secretary of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) who filed the lawsuit.

"Their families are in hell, their lives are scattered, some of them forever," he added.

Qantas must return to the Federal Court and "do whatever you can to speed up compensation for workers, so that they can get justice and entertainment for themselves and their families," Kaine said.

Meanwhile, Qantas said in a statement it accepted the High Court's decision and noted that the Federal Court had ruled out the company's coercion to re-employ its workers. It said it had made unspecified provisions in its accounts regarding fines and compensation for affected employees following the Federal Court's decision.

"As we have said from the start, we deeply regret the personal impact of the outsourcing decision on all affected parties and we sincerely apologize for that," the airline said in a statement.

When outsourcing on baggage handling, the airline said it would save around $ 100 million per year in operational costs, as well as $ 100 million in Australian equipment investment for five years.

Quoting the BBC, Qantas stated that the action it took was a necessary financial action during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Qantas dismissed baggage officers and cleaning staff at 10 airports in Australia November 2020, at a time when the country closed its borders and businesses were plummeting.

The workers and union members described the result as a "big win" after the struggle of "David andtenil".