Qantas, Australia’s national airline and the largest airline in Australia and Oceania, has been fined a record-breaking $90 million Australian dollars (£43 million) by an Australian court for illegally laying off more than 1,800 ground handling employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds will be distributed by law firm Maurice Blackburn.
Qantas Paying the Price for Illegal Layoffs
The fine, which is the largest ever imposed for violating industrial relations laws in the country’s history, was welcomed by the Australian Transport Worker’s Union. In 2020, the Australian airline made the decision to outsource its ground operations staff as aviation around the world came to a standstill during the pandemic. In a statement, Qantas Group’s Chief Executive, Vanessa Hudson, said:
“We sincerely apologise to each and every one of the 1,820 ground handling employees and to their families who suffered as a result. The decision to outsource five years ago, particularly during such an uncertain time, caused genuine hardship for many of our former team and their families. Over the past 18 months, we’ve worked hard to change the way we operate as part of our efforts to rebuild trust with our people and our customers. This remains our highest priority as we work to earn back the trust we lost.”
Federal Court Justice Rules in Favour of Ex-employees
Federal Court Justice, Michael Lee, who was responsible for the ruling, said that he wanted the fine to serve as a deterrent for other employers attempting to cut costs in a similar fashion. He also described the outsourcing as the “largest and most significant contravention” of Australian labour laws in 120 years. As well as paying the $90 million AUD fine in accordance with the court’s orders, Qantas has also paid $120 million AUD (£57 million) into a compensation fund for all of its employees affected by the layoffs, which will be administered by the Maurice Blackburn law firm.
$50 million AUD of the fine (£24 million) will be paid directly to the Union, as ruled by Lee because no government agency had previously investigated or prosecuted the Australian airline. A hearing is to be held at a later date to decide where the remaining $40 million AUD (£19 million) will be allocated.
In his ruling, Lee said:
“If any further evidence was needed of the unrelenting and aggressive litigation strategy adopted in this case by Qantas, it is provided by this effort directed to denying any compensation whatsoever to those in respect of whom Qantas was publicly professing regret for their misfortune. I do think that the people in charge of Qantas now have some genuine regret, but this more likely reflects the damage that this case has done to the company rather than remorse for the damage done to the affected workers.”
Josh Bornstein, a lawyer of Maurice Blackburn who represented the Union in court, described Qantas as the country’s “fiercest legal opponent” and described the day of the ruling as “the darkest in Qantas’ 105-year history”. Ex-employees of Qantas who were laid off during the pandemic have expressed both relief at the ruling and have shared their struggles of finding another job after the layoffs. In a competitive job market, many older workers especially struggled following their termination.
Have you or someone you know been affected by this incident? Has it influenced your trust in Australia’s national airline? Let us know in the comments.
