Australia’s Qantas loses high court battle over illegal outsourcing
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA — The High Court of Australia ruled that Qantas illegally outsourced 1,700 ground handler jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing the airline to a significant compensation bill.
The decision is a major win for the Transport Workers Union (TWU), which will now seek compensation and penalties in the federal court for the largest illegal job dismissal in Australian history.
In July 2021, the federal court ruled that Qantas’s outsourcing of workers was partly driven by a desire to avoid industrial action, breaching the Fair Work Act. The TWU then reported that around 78% of Qantas workers wish to return to their old jobs at the airline company.
The High Court unanimously upheld this decision, rejecting Qantas’s claim that it had not taken unlawful “adverse action” because workers did not yet have the right to take industrial action when they were sacked.
Qantas had claimed that the outsourcing was a necessary financial measure that could save it $100 million annually and reduce future spending on ground handling equipment.
However, the court found that the airline’s actions were also taken to prevent affected employees from exercising workplace rights to organize and engage in protected industrial action and participate in bargaining.
Qantas said it “acknowledges and accepts” the High Court decision.
“As we have said from the beginning, we deeply regret the personal impact the outsourcing decision had on all those affected and we sincerely apologize for that,” the airline added.
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