Transport Workers Union lodges test case in court against Qantas for sacking 2000 staff

Qantas has been taken to court over its recent job cuts, with the Transport Workers Union saying the decision is unlawful.

The Transport Workers Union has taken legal action against major airline Qantas over its decision to outsource 2000 ground staff workers.

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers has filed a test case on behalf of the TWU in the Federal Court in an attempt to overturn the airline’s decision to use third party ground services at 10 Australian airports.

The TWU says Qantas breached the Fair Work Act and is claiming the dismissal of the 2000 workers who were entitled to collective bargaining is unlawful.

“This important test case for the TWU will determine whether Qantas’s decision to sack 2000 workers to outsource these jobs breaches workplace laws,” Maurice Blackburn principal Josh Bornstein said.

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers principal Josh Bornstein and TWU national secretary Michael Kaine. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

“The Fair Work Act makes clear that you can’t sack employees because they are entitled to collectively bargained employment conditions. By outsourcing this work, Qantas is seeking to avoid collective bargaining under the Fair Work Act.”

Qantas has refuted the claims saying the culling of 2000 staff due to cost pressures was not unlawful.

“We recognise that this is a difficult decision which impacts a lot of our people but outsourcing this work to specialist ground handlers who already do this work for us in other cities across the country is not unlawful,” a Qantas spokesman said.

The airline said the TWU’s claim of outsourcing to cheaper labour hire companies is wrong, with ground servicing being awarded to companies which are also used by Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand and Emirates.

Following a strategic review, Qantas on November 30 announced it would scrap ground services as part of its cost reduction strategy that has been sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.

The health crisis has prompted the flying kangaroo to reduce its operations by approximately 30 per cent in the long term in order to reflect a smaller aviation industry once operations normalise.

Qantas on November 30 announced it would scrap ground services as part of its cost reduction strategy which has been sparked because of the coronavirus pandemic. Picture: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

Qantas has axed more than 8500 staff due to the lockdown and reported a $2.7 billion statutory loss for the 2020 financial year.

Mr Bornstein said Qantas’s decision would place more people into insecure working arrangements, with worse condition and less pay.

“If the outsourcing proceeds, Qantas will no longer have to negotiate with the workers who perform the work,” he said.

“Instead, Qantas will be able to unilaterally impose a price for the services of outsourced workers, and those outsourced workers will not be allowed to bargain with Qantas under current industrial relation laws.”

Qantas chief executive of domestic and international operations Andrew David said the industry had been turned “upside down” and it would take years to recover from the financial damage inflicted by the global shutdown.

Qantas chief executive of domestic and international operations Andrew David said the industry had been turned ‘upside down’. Picture: Bianca De Marchi/ AAP

“This is another tough day for Qantas, particularly for our ground-handling teams and their families,” Mr David said on November 30.

“Unfortunately, COVID has turned aviation upside down. Airlines around the world are having to make dramatic decisions in order to survive, and the damage will take years to repair.”

Qantas said impacted staff would be entitled to redundancy packages, and it would help workers find jobs outside of the company.

It is expected the outsourcing of ground-handling operations will reduce costs by $100 million annually and avoid large spending on ground-handling equipment.

The outsourcing work will comprise major operators Swissport, dnata, Menzies and Star Aviation.

Third party services are yet to announce whether positions will be available to former Qantas staff.