"Union Demands $121 Million Penalty from Qantas for Worker Layoffs"

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The union argues that Qantas should face the maximum penalty of $121 million for unlawfully outsourcing the jobs of 1,800 ground staff, aiming to deliver a decisive warning to all corporations.

Justice Michael Lee will make a decision regarding the fine Qantas must pay following three days of proceedings beginning on Monday in the Federal Court in Sydney.

Outside of court, Michael Kaine, national secretary of the Transport Workers Union (TWU), described the hearing as the start of concluding “a protracted, brutal, distressing set of litigation” initiated in 2020 after Qantas terminated the workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is the case against Qantas?

The TWU started a case in the Federal Court in 2020 over the outsourcing of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Qantas pursued the case to the High Court, which unanimously confirmed the Federal Court’s ruling that the company violated the Fair Work Act by outsourcing the workers, thus barring them from utilizing industrial rights to engage in collective bargaining and undertake protected industrial actions.

Last October, Lee ordered Qantas to pay $120 million to the workers as compensation for their economic loss, pain and suffering, and the TWU is seeking that he impose the maximum penalty of $121 million.

Kaine emphasized, “We must deliver a very strong, unmistakable message to Qantas and every other company in Australia that this can never, ever happen again to any Australian worker.”

What has Qantas said?

In court, Qantas chief people officer Catherine Walsh told Lee that: “hopefully you’ll see from the size of the compensation payment that, in fact, we are very sorry”.

“We do wish for the workforce that was impacted to be properly remediated and the compensation that has been agreed could go some way to deal with that,” she said.

A white plane with a red tail flying with the city of Sydney in the background

The Transport Workers Union said a strong message must be sent to Qantas. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts

The compensation payments will start flowing to workers by the end of May, with a base payment of $10,000 for all workers.

Outside court, Kaine said Qantas had: “said sorry at two minutes to midnight”.

“They put it in an affidavit in these proceedings, because if you show contrition in penalty proceedings, the judge is bound to consider whether that should provide you with a discount on your penalty,” he said.

‘It’s changed their world’

Kaine said the penalty should reflect the “human suffering, the family dislocation, the financial stress, the mental anguish, the family breakdowns” directly resulting from Qantas’ illegal conduct.

Also outside court, former Qantas worker Tony Hayes said the saga was “never-ending”.

“It’s been the same conversation for five years and we just want it to go away, but we want them to pay,” he said.

Another former worker, Anne Guirguis, said she was with the company for 28 years and thought she would retire there.

“I’ve got colleagues that have lost houses and have been divorced, it’s changed their world,” she said.

Justice Lee was expected to start hearing closing submissions from lawyers for Qantas and the TWU on Monday afternoon.