Australia’s largest airline, Qantas Airways, has been ordered to pay A$90 million (US$59 million) for illegally sacking more than 1,800 ground workers during the Covid-19 pandemic and replacing them with contractors.
In a ruling on Aug 18, the Federal Court of Australia told Qantas to pay A$50 million (US$26 million) of the penalty directly to the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU), which had sued the airline over the firings.
A portion of the remainder, to be determined at a later hearing, might go to some of the 1,820 sacked workers. The fine comes on top of 2024’s A$120 million (US$79 million) compensation deal for the impacted former employees.
Ground-handling operations were outsourced in late 2020
Qantas outsourced ground-handling operations at 10 Australian airports in late 2020, under then chief executive Alan Joyce, as Covid-19 brought aviation to a standstill.
The TWU argued staff were axed to avoid looming negotiations over pay and conditions, and potential strikes.
Reading his hour-long judgment, Justice Michael Lee criticised the internal culture that allowed the firings to proceed. He also questioned the airline’s degree of contrition and its commitment to change, noting Qantas’ “unrelenting and aggressive litigation strategy” as it pursued the case through the courts.
Ghost flights
The illegal firings were one of several scandals and corporate missteps at Qantas during the pandemic and its immediate aftermath, including accusations from the regulator that Qantas sold seats on thousands of flights that the airline had already scrapped.
The airline agreed to pay a further A$120 million (US$79 million) in penalties and compensation for the ghost flights.
Resolving the ground handlers’ case has been a key part of Qantas’ rehabilitation under Mr. Joyce’s successor, Ms Vanessa Hudson, who took the helm in late 2023.
Justice Lee’s stinging words on Aug 18 now re-opens the debate about who was to blame, and what is being done, following the worst reputational crisis in the airline’s history.
‘Performative remorse’
Justice Lee expressed his dissatisfaction that Ms Hudson had not appeared in court, but instead apologised through company statements.
“It is one thing for the ‘Qantas News Room’ to issue press releases by a CEO saying sorry; it is quite another for written assertions of contrition, recognition of wrong and cultural change to be tested in a courtroom by senior counsel for a party submitting that Qantas is engaged in performative remorse,” Justice Lee said in his judgment.
The Qantas Group issued a statement on the same day, stating that it accepts the Federal Court’s decision on the penalty for unlawfully outsourcing its ground handling function in 2020, and that the judgement holds it accountable for its actions that caused real harm to employees.
Qantas had faced a maximum A$121 million (US$79.6 million) penalty for illegally sacking the workers.
Image courtesy of Qantas.
