By Kayla Olaya and Olivia Ireland
Qantas is facing a hefty compensation payout to 1700 workers illegally sacked during the pandemic after a Federal Court ruling on Monday.
The court ruled the airline pay compensation for three test cases amounting to $170,000. The Transport Workers Union, who first brought the case in 2020, will now go into mediation with Qantas to finalise the payout for the remaining workers based on the amounts assigned to the three test cases.
During the pandemic, Qantas sacked 1700 ground-crew employees citing cost-cutting measures as COVID flight restrictions continued to ravage the airline industry.Credit: James Brickwood
The judgment stated that the ruling is to be based off three cases; case one is to be paid $30,000, case two $40,000, and case three $100,000.
Transport Workers Union national assistant secretary Nick McIntosh said the amounts paid to individuals would vary, but he estimated Qantas would owe compensation totalling more than $100 million over the case.
During the pandemic, Qantas sacked 1700 ground-handler employees citing cost-cutting measures as COVID flight restrictions continued to ravage the airline industry. However, Qantas did not replace the employees once the pandemic no longer restricted flights and instead continued to illegally outsource ground handlers, the High Court ruled in September 2023.
Justice Michael Lee said that given Qantas’ laser-like focus on cutting costs, it was highly likely that the decision to outsource would have proceeded anyway. Justice Lee urged the union and the airline to resolve the outstanding issues of compensation and the penalty for Qantas.
“It may be a triumph of hope over expectation, but my desire is for the Court to move quickly to resolve any penalty and the balance of compensation issues,” he said.
Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson issued an apology to the former ground staff on Monday, as the airline said it would work to expedite the payments.
“We sincerely apologise to our former employees who were impacted by this decision and we know that the onus is on Qantas to learn from this,” Hudson said.
“We recognise the emotional and financial impact this has had on these people and their families. We hope that this provides closure to those who have been affected.”
The TWU accused Qantas of using the law to delay workers’ payouts when the airline argued Lee should “surgically remove” the illegal conduct and not award any compensation for economic loss.
“This type of legal delaying tactic has seen Qantas drag its own workforce through the courts for nearly four years to try and deny them justice,” the union said in a statement.
Its national secretary Michael Kaine said the workers had stood by each other for four years in the courts and been vindicated.
“Qantas says it’s turned over a new leaf. Well, it’s time to prove it. After relentlessly prolonging this case and denying workers justice, Qantas must do everything in its power to ensure appropriate compensation to workers,” Kaine said. “They should not have to suffer a day longer after the last four years of anguish.”
The compensation ruling is the latest chapter in the long-running legal battle between the union and Qantas. The union first brought the case against Qantas to the Federal Court in 2020 over its decision to stand down employees working at 11 airports.
In August this year, Qantas posted a full-year profit of $1.25 billion and revealed it had forked out $230 million in customer-restoration initiatives and provisions for penalties for the illegal sacking of the ground handlers.
Before COVID, Qantas was one of the few airlines to employ ground handlers – who service aircraft while they are on the ground or parked at a terminal gate – rather than outsource the work like most other airlines.
Qantas appealed against a 2021 decision which found the airline had contravened the Fair Work Act, a decision that was upheld by the full bench of the Federal Court in 2022. But the court did not force the group to reinstate the affected employees.
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