Foes unite in fury over Qantas sacking as workers pursue damages

Qantas faces a compensation settlement that could run into hundreds of millions of dollars for workers illegally sacked, following a landmark High Court decision which prompted some of the company’s biggest investors to harden calls for a rethink of executive bonuses.

In what unions hailed as a “great day for working people”, the court unanimously ruled on Wednesday against the airline over its pandemic-era outsourcing of 1700 ground staff, emboldening a legislative push on controversial industrial reforms while provoking the Coalition to demand Qantas make staff reparations.

The High Court decision follows years of legal proceedings after Qantas sacked ground staff during the pandemic.Credit: Wolter Peters

The decision brings to an end a long-running legal battle that began in 2020 when the Transport Workers Union took Qantas to the Federal Court over its decision to stand down employees working at 11 airports.

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.

Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus said workers had thrown everything at taking on the airline after years of litigation.

“It’s a real David-and-Goliath struggle, but it just shows what workers can achieve when they pull together,” she said outside the High Court on Wednesday morning.

Qantas moved to extend an olive branch to workers, with a spokesperson saying the airline intended to discuss reaching a settlement with workers in a bid to head off further legal action after the Transport Workers Union warned it would pursue compensation and significant penalties.

Lawyer Josh Bornstein, who ran the union’s case, said Qantas could be up for a “potentially very significant sum” that would consider the economic harms and health impacts suffered by the sacked workers.

“Potentially it could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, but ultimately it’s for the court to determine,” Bornstein said.

The court’s decision adds to a political storm facing the airline due to a combination of customer complaints, a consumer watchdog investigation, questions over its influence on government decisions and controversy over considering bonuses for senior executives including former chief executive Alan Joyce.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus has hailed the High Court decision as a David and Goliath victory for workers.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The head of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors Louise Davidson – who represents the big super investors owning about 20 per cent of Qantas – said the High Court decision was “yet another” factor the Qantas board should consider when determining bonuses.

“The High Court decision adds yet another layer to the numerous issues facing Qantas and will further tarnish the company’s reputation,” Davidson said.

“Investors will be expecting the Qantas board to reflect upon the various performance issues emerging in their consideration of pay outcomes for Alan Joyce and other executives, as well as broader accountability issues.”

Joyce is expected to be paid well over $20 million this financial year, including bonuses and his base salary, but the total figure will not be known until the company issues its annual report later this month.

The Transport Workers Union’s national secretary, Michael Kaine, said the board, including chair Richard Goyder, should resign.

Goyder, who has previously batted away demands to step down from the business, said last month the Qantas board had “clawback provisions” it could use to reduce Joyce’s remuneration for the year “if necessary”.

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said he and other senior Labor figures, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Transport Minister Catherine King, had stood “shoulder to shoulder” with workers while in opposition.

Burke took aim at opposition industrial relations spokeswoman Michaelia Cash in question time, who had argued while in government that the airline had taken a commercial decision it was entitled to make.

On Wednesday, Cash reversed this position and urged the airline “to deliver for its employees” while Coalition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie said Qantas needed to “restore their corporate reputation as an employer of choice”.

“When you look at the payments that are going to have to be made by the staff impacted by the decision, I think the new CEO [Vanessa Hudson] made it clear that it’s a new page, and it’s an opportunity for the board to really restore the reputation of our once-beloved national carrier,” McKenzie said.

The Coalition is also calling on the government to reinstate the consumer watchdog’s ability to monitor prices and profits within the aviation industry.

Hudson, who took over from Joyce last week, did not comment on the court decision on Wednesday, but a Qantas spokesperson said that the airline accepted the verdict.

“The decision to outsource the remainder of the airline’s ground-handling function was made in August 2020, when borders were closed, lockdowns were in place and no COVID vaccine existed,” the spokesperson said. “The likelihood of a years-long crisis led Qantas to restructure its business to improve its ability to survive and ultimately recover.”

McManus and Kaine called on upon parliament to urgently pass the government’s Closing Loopholes Bill to ensure employers provide the same pay and conditions to auxilliary workers are provided to staff under the terms of their enterprise agreements.

The passage of the bill has been delayed after the Senate voted to defer a committee report on the bill until February.

Crossbenchers in both the Senate and lower house have called on the government to split the bill to allow for measures that would make it easier for emergency workers to access compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder to be passed.

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