More than 1800 staff were sacked in 2020 in outsourcing plans that were deemed 'illegal' by Federal Court
Australia's largest airline has been fined $90 million following the sacking of more than 1,800 workers back in 2020.
Handing down the fine in the Federal Court on Monday, Justice Michael Lee said his focus was on deterence.
"My present focus is on achieving real deterrence, including general deterrence to large public companies, which might be tempted to get away with contravening conduct because the rewards may outweigh the downside risk of effective remedial responses, including eventual penalties,” Justice Lee said.
"I accept Qantas is sorry, but I’m unconvinced that this measure of regret is not a significant measure – a result of what the full court described in another case as ‘the wrong kind of sorry'."
Of the $90 million penalty, $50 million will go to the Transport Workers Union (TWU), who brought the case, with the additional $40 million being allocated at a later hearing. The airline had previously agreed to pay $120m in compensation to staff effected.
Justice Lee said the fine would send a message to Qantas and other well resourced employers that they face potentially significant penalties for breaching the Fair Work Act and those penalties would go to trade unions to resource their role as enforcers of the act.
In a statement the TWU, which had been pushing for an additional penalty of $121 million, said the judgement marks the end of a "David and Goliath" battle - emphasising the need to change industrial negotiations.
“We need to return to an industry where workers are an investment and not a cost to be viciously driven down. We need a Safe and Secure Skies Commission so aviation works for our communities and not profit-obsessed executives," TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine, said.
"Qantas was not sorry to workers when it illegally outsourced these workers, many finding out they’d lost their jobs over a loudspeaker in the lunch room. It was not sorry when it dragged them all the way to the High Court, or when it argued it should have to pay them no compensation at all."
In a statement, Qantas said it accepts the Federal Court’s decision on the penalty for unlawfully outsourcing its ground handling function in 2020 and the judgement "holds us accountable for our actions that caused real harm to our employees".
In 2020, 1820 baggage handlers, cleaning staff, and ground crews were sacked from Qantas Group in a move the court ruled was designed to curb union bargaining power in wage negotiations, according to reports.
A Federal Court judge previously ruled the sackings were "illegal", a decision Qantas challenged multiple times before its appeal was rejected by the High Court.
In his judgement, Justice Lee noted that the outsourcing decision was "carefully planned" and involved senior members of Qantas Group's management, in which the team were "keen" on going down the road of outsourcing.
It was argued the decision goes directly against Qantas Group's key branding of being the "Spirit of Australia," Justice Lee noted.
Justice Lee concluded that "some remorse" has been shown by Qantas - but rather because of the damage caused to the company, rather than what the outsourcing decision has done to those impacted.
The airline had previously agreed to pay $120m in 2024 in compensation for staff effected - in what Qantas Group's CEO, Vanessa Hudson, called at the time an "important step" in bringing closure to the affected former employees.
"I want to reiterate our sincere apologies to those impacted and their families," Hudson said in a statement at the time.
In a statement issued on Monday, Hudson said: “We sincerely apologise to each and every one of the 1,820 ground handling employees and to their families who suffered as a result."
“The decision to outsource five years ago, particularly during such an uncertain time, caused genuine hardship for many of our former team and their families.
“The impact was felt not only by those who lost their jobs, but by our entire workforce."
Hudson said the organisation had worked hard to change the way they operates i the past 18 months and this "remains our highest priority as we work to earn back the trust we lost".
