Qantas could pay millions over illegal outsourcing of ground workers

Qantas has admitted it was “in the wrong” when it illegally sacked more than 1800 ground workers, with the airline waiting for the penalty to be imposed.

Qantas could be forced to pay more than $120m in penalties for illegally outsourcing more than 1800 ground workers.

The High Court unanimously rejected a Qantas appeal after the Federal Court found that the airline had illegally sacked staff.

A three-day hearing began in the Federal Court in Sydney on Monday to decide the penalty Qantas must pay for the 2020 decision during the Covid pandemic.

Qantas people manager Catherine Walsh took the stand and said the years-long process of appeals before the court had been a “very lengthy and no doubt tiring processes for many people” and she accepted that Qantas was “in the wrong”.

“I want to reinforce that we are deeply sorry, and we apologise for the impact on the workers, the TWU (Transport Workers Union), to the court for their time and to the family and friends that felt the impacts, we are deeply sorry,” she said.

Qantas people manager Catherine Walsh said the airline was ‘deeply sorry’. Picture: Supplied

“We hope we can get to the stage where there can be some finality for them in this.”

Meanwhile, TWU lawyers questioned Ms Walsh on the airline’s culture.

Noel Hutley SC said Ms Walsh told the court of how Qantas had “changed its ways”, and that she was a “central cog” in addressing issues with culture that brought about this “catastrophe”.

Mr Hutley put to Ms Walsh that she had not raised the concerns with external advisers about the concerns since she joined the company in 2024.

Mr Hutley said the airline had “moved swiftly” to outsource due to the risk of protected industrial action.

“It is concerning, yes,” Ms Walsh replied.

“You never asked … why he behaved in an extraordinary fashion? It is extraordinary that nothing was said about a matter that was obviously an illicit reasoning for outsourcing,” Mr Hutley said.

‘Loyal’ workers suffered

In their submissions on Monday afternoon, lawyers for TWU told Justice Lee they were calling for Qantas to pay “the highest penalty available to the court”.

“This has been the largest ever instance of the contravention of the fair work act,” Mr Hutley said.

Mr Hutley said “loyal and hardworking” employees who were illegally sacked had been adversely impacted and suffered significant “psychological injury and distress”.

“This case … it’s a demonstration of the potency of one course of conduct, or what Qantas would describe as a “single act “, to describe massive or irreparable harm to the lives of workers,” he said.

The fact that no senior managers ever “pressure tested” the illicit reasons for the outsourcing, means they could infer those senior managers “embraced and supported those reasons”, Mr Hutley submitted.

Meanwhile, the TWU has called for the maximum payment of more than $121m to be paid out.

“Not only was it an appalling act to get rid of a loyal workforce, it was the biggest case of illegal sackings in Australian corporate history,” TWU secretary Michael Kaine said in a statement on Monday.

Transport Workers Union secretary Michael Kaine called the Qantas decision ‘appalling’. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

“The penalty to Qantas must reflect this and send a message to every other company in Australia that you cannot sack your workers to prevent them from using their industrial rights.”

Mr Kaine said ground handling work for Qantas was now being undertaken by companies such as Swissport, which he alleged had “severe understaffing” and a “revolving door of fed-up workers”.

“This cannot be a business case for outsourcing and Qantas should not only pay the maximum legal penalty for its actions but commit to funding fair standards throughout its supply chain,” he said.

Qantas is expected to pay millions in compensation. Picture: NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

“We need to see Qantas held accountable to the fullest extent here.”

The maximum penalty Qantas can be ordered to pay is $121m, on top of the $120m compensation fund that is now in the process of being administered to workers.

The Federal Court earlier found Qantas had acted against protections in the Fair Work Act in its outsourcing and was partly motivated by a desire to prevent industrial action.

The airline appealed the decision to the full bench of the Federal Court and later the High Court, both of which were unsuccessful.

After losing the appeal, the union and Qantas went to mediation to determine how much Qantas would have to pay the outsourced workers for economic losses linked to lost wages.

The hearing before Justice Michael Lee continues.

Originally published as Qantas could pay millions over illegal outsourcing of ground workers