Latest news with #groundworkers
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Sorry' Qantas could face $121m fine for sackings
Qantas should be forced to pay the maximum penalty of $121 million for illegally outsourcing the roles of 1800 ground workers, to send a strong message to all companies, a union says. Justice Michael Lee is set to decide the penalty Qantas must pay after three days of hearings that began on Monday in the Federal Court in Sydney. Outside court, Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine said the hearing was the beginning of the end of "a protracted, brutal, distressing set of litigation" that started in 2020 after Qantas sacked the workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qantas appealed the case all the way to the High Court, which unanimously upheld the Federal Court's finding it had breached the Fair Work Act by outsourcing the workers, preventing them from accessing industrial rights to collectively bargain and take protected industrial action. Last October, Justice Lee ordered Qantas to pay $120 million to the workers as compensation for their economic loss, pain and suffering, and the TWU is seeking that he impose the maximum penalty of $121 million. "We have to send a very strong, clear signal to Qantas and every other company in Australia that this can never, ever happen again to any Australian worker," Mr Kaine said. In court, Qantas chief people officer Catherine Walsh told Justice Lee that "hopefully you'll see from the size of the compensation payment that, in fact, we are very sorry". "We do wish for the workforce that was impacted to be properly remediated and the compensation that has been agreed could go some way to deal with that," she said. The compensation payments will start flowing to workers by the end of May, with a base payment of $10,000 for all workers. Outside court, Mr Kaine said Qantas had "said sorry at two minutes to midnight". "They put it in an affidavit in these proceedings, because if you show contrition in penalty proceedings, the judge is bound to consider whether that should provide you with a discount on your penalty," he said. But he said the penalty should reflect the "human suffering, the family dislocation, the financial stress, the mental anguish, the family breakdowns" directly resulting from Qantas' illegal conduct. Also outside court, former Qantas worker Tony Hayes said the saga was "never ending". "It's been the same conversation for five years and we just want it to go away, but we want them to pay," he said. Another former worker Anne Guirguis said she was with the company for 28 years and thought she would retire there. "I've got colleagues that have lost houses and have been divorced, it's changed their world," she said. On Monday afternoon, Justice Lee is expected to start hearing closing submissions from lawyers for Qantas and the TWU.
News.com.au
19-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Qantas could pay millions over illegal outsourcing of ground workers
Qantas could be forced to pay more than $120m in penalties for illegally outsourcing more than 1800 ground workers. The High Court unanimously rejected a Qantas appeal after the Federal Court found that the airline had illegally sacked staff. A five-day hearing began in the Federal Court in Sydney on Monday to decide the penalty Qantas must pay for the 2020 decision during the Covid pandemic. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) is calling for the maximum payment of more than $121m to be paid out. 'Not only was it an appalling act to get rid of a loyal workforce, it was the biggest case of illegal sackings in Australian corporate history,' TWU secretary Michael Kaine said in a statement on Monday. 'The penalty to Qantas must reflect this and send a message to every other company in Australia that you cannot sack your workers to prevent them from using their industrial rights.' Mr Kaine said ground handling work for Qantas was now being undertaken by companies such as Swissport, which he alleged had 'severe understaffing' and a 'revolving door of fed-up workers'. 'This cannot be a business case for outsourcing and Qantas should not only pay the maximum legal penalty for its actions but commit to funding fair standards throughout its supply chain,' he said. 'We need to see Qantas held accountable to the fullest extent here.' The maximum penalty Qantas can be ordered to pay is $121m, on top of the $120m compensation fund that is now in the process of being administered to workers. The hearing before Justice Michael Lee continues.
