‘Thrilled’: Workers claim win after sackings from Black Star Pastry for wearing keffiyehs

Two baristas who were sacked for wearing keffiyehs to work have claimed victory after reaching a confidential settlement with high-end bakery Black Star Pastry.

This masthead previously revealed the two workers, Ella and Lucy, were sacked from the Chadstone shopping centre bakery, in Melbourne’s south-east, in January after wearing the headscarves to work to protest against the war in Gaza.

Lucy and Ella are friends and former workers at Black Star Pastry. They were sacked after wearing keffiyehs in solidarity with Palestine.Credit: Chris Hopkins

The workers, whose surnames have been withheld for privacy reasons, claim they followed instructions from management to remove the keffiyehs, but were sacked the following day.

The pair struggled to find new jobs and commenced legal proceedings on March 19 in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, alleging the terminations were discriminatory.

The Equal Opportunity Act prevents employers in Victoria from discriminating against workers because of their political beliefs or activities.

Ella and Lucy, who were represented pro bono by the law firm Young Workers Centre, said they felt the bakery’s treatment against them was heavy-handed.

The parties held a mediation session last Thursday and have now reached a confidential settlement. The parties released a joint statement saying they are “grateful to have been able to achieve a resolution”.

“Black Star Pastry understands that Ella and Lucy feel passionately about the cause they were representing,” the statement said.

“Black Star Pastry reiterates that it takes no issue with employees expressing personal views when not representing the business.

“All persons agree that this is a sensitive and emotional global issue for many people, which is also impacting Australians in many ways.”

The settlement prevents disclosure of the terms, including whether there was any financial compensation.

The Young Workers Centre released a separate statement saying it is “unlawful to discriminate against someone, in their employment, on the basis of their political belief or activity”.

Lawyer Kelly Thomas said the community law firm was “thrilled to successfully resolve this discrimination case without a formal hearing”.

“Ella and Lucy demonstrated peaceful solidarity with Palestine, which resulted in them losing their livelihood,” Thomas said.

“Workers must be front and centre of businesses. Their interests outweigh all others.”

Thomas previously said she was preparing for similar cases as local tensions build over the war in Gaza. Speaking generally, she said settlements could include financial compensation, apologies or retraining.

Reports of the legal action prompted a mixed reaction on social media, with some people posting calls to #BoycottBlackStarPastry, while others criticised the workers. Sydney filmmaker Jane Manning wrote to the business last month supporting the workers.

“For many years I’ve been a huge fan of your cakes, and a regular customer,” Manning wrote. “I’m a Jewish woman and keen student of history. It is appalling to me that you would fire workers showing solidarity with people suffering from what the UN Special Rapporteur has determined is a genocide.”

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