Australia: Australia’s High Court has ruled that Qantas Airways broke the law by sacking 1,700 ground staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The High Court said that Qantas interfered with unionised employees’ legal right to take industrial action and collectively bargain when it replaced the workers with contractors.
Qantas appealed a previous Federal Court ruling that found the airline guilty of breaking the law by outsourcing ground handling jobs. They couldn’t prove they weren’t trying to stop workers from taking future industrial action, and the latest ruling supports this decision.
This decision comes after the ongoing challenges facing Qantas as the airline deals with various controversies concerning how it treats both its customers and employees.
The country’s main airline has faced criticism for reportedly selling 8,000 tickets for flights that got cancelled.
The Australian Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) hailed the ruling. They have been in a two-year court battle with Qantas over the job cuts and have urged the airline to quickly provide compensation to the impacted workers.
“These workers have been put through hell. Their families have been put through hell. Their lives have been dislocated. Some of them forever,” TWU National Secretary Mr. Michael Kaine said in a press conference.
“The action that you can take immediately is to hurry back before the Federal Court now and do everything you can to expedite compensation for the workers so that they can get some justice and solace for themselves and their families,” Mr. Kaine added.
Former chief executive of the airline, Mr. Alan Joyce, last week announced he would step down two months earlier than planned amid rising criticism of the airline.
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