Qantas to fight on in outsourcing case

Qantas has sought leave to appeal a court’s decision that found the airline’s motivations for outsourcing 2000 workers were not entirely lawful.

Qantas baggage handlers will have to wait for months to find out if the airline will have to reinstate them after an appeal was lodged to a Federal Court decision that ruled the outsourcing was illegal. Picture: Supplied

Qantas has sought leave to appeal a Federal Court decision that ruled the airline’s outsourcing of 2000 ground-handling workers was motivated by a desire to avoid industrial action.

The application, lodged late on Tuesday, appears set to delay a hearing scheduled for Wednesday that was meant to decide on a remedy for the affected workers.

The Transport Workers Union, which brought the case against Qantas, wants the reinstatement of employees and financial compensation paid, as well as a penalty for the airline.

TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said a recent survey of the affected workers showed three-quarters had been unable to secure full-time work since their jobs were outsourced, and 77 per cent wanted to return to their previous roles.

He said the union would not give up its fight for justice.

“Workers have been to hell and back because of Qantas’s ­cruelty, which it is determined to drag out for as long as possible,” said Mr Kaine.

“Qantas management have teetered on the edge of the law throughout the pandemic and this time the airline has been categorically found to have crossed that line.” He said instead of funding an expensive appeal, “Qantas should get on with the task of reinstating and compensation the loyal workers it illegally pushed out the door”.

“More than 1650 people have signed a letter calling on the Qantas board to drop plans to appeal and give workers their jobs back,” Mr Kaine said.

“If the board truly has the airline’s best interests at heart, it should reinstate the highly skilled workers who’ve built the trusted brand.”

Qantas pledged its intention to appeal immediately after Justice Michael Lee delivered his decision in July but the paperwork was not filed until Tuesday.

In a statement, the airline insisted the decision to outsource the jobs of 2000 ground-handling workers was made purely for “lawful commercial reasons and this will be the subject of our appeal”.

To support its argument, Qantas pointed out that it was actively recruiting for ground-handling and investing in new equipment before the Covid-19 crisis.

The statement said the decision to outsource was triggered by the massive impact of the pandemic on revenue and the realisation that using third party providers could save Qantas up to $100m a year.

“It would also remove the need for Qantas to spend $80m over five years on necessary ground-handling equipment like tugs and baggage loaders,” it said.

“Outsourcing would allow resources to be better matched with fluctuating levels of demand. The need for this variability has been shown again by the latest set of lockdowns.”

Under the Fair Work Act, Qantas is required to prove the threat of industrial action by workers, as part of new enterprise bargaining negotiations, did not influence the decision to outsource their jobs.

Justice Lee found Qantas had not met this test and ruled in favour of the TWU.

Mr Kaine said it was telling that the federal government had been “silent” on the court decision.

“Qantas’ own (court) documents revealed fears of federal government repercussions for the outsourcing decision after receiving financial assistance, but you could hear a pin drop in the Prime Minister’s office,” he said.

Qantas reported a statutory loss before tax of $2.35bn for the 2021 financial year.

Currently more than 8000 of the airline’s 22,000 workers are stood down, and more than 9000 have been axed since the pandemic began.