SYDNEY, Aug 18 (NNN-AAP) – Australia’s Federal Court fined Qantas 90 million Australian dollars (58.6 million U.S. dollars) for the airline’s illegal termination of more than 1,800 workers in 2020.
Federal Court Justice, Michael Lee, handed down the fine today, after he ruled, in 2021, that, the national flag carrier breached protections in the Fair Work Act, when it outsourced 1,820 ground handling jobs at 10 airports in Nov, 2020.
The fine imposed by Lee represented about 75 percent of the maximum 121 million AUD penalty that could have been handed down by the court, and comes on top of the 120 million AUD that the airline in Dec, agreed to pay affected workers in compensation.
Lee ordered that, 50 million AUD of the fine will be paid to the Transport Workers Union (TWU), which brought the proceedings against Qantas, on behalf of the affected workers, with the matter to return to court at a later date, to determine where the remaining amount will be paid.
In handing down his decision, Lee said, he has doubts about whether there is “real contrition” among Qantas senior management about the 2020 decision.
“I do think persons of responsibility within Qantas do now have some genuine regrets, but this more likely reflects the damage this case has done to the company, rather than a remorse for the damage done to the affected workers,” he said.
He said that, executives at the airline were motivated by a desire to avoid industrial action by the workforce.
Lee’s 2021 ruling on the case was appealed by Qantas and upheld by the Full Federal Court and the High Court of Australia in 2022 and 2023, respectively. (1 Australian dollar equals 0.65 U.S. dollar)– NNN-AAP
