Qantas fined A$90m for illegally sacking ground staff during pandemic 

Qantas has accepted an Australian court ruling and fine of A$90 million (£43 million) for illegally sacking 1,800 ground staff during the pandemic.

The penalty by the country’s Federal Court was for unlawfully outsourcing the airline’s ground handling function in 2020.

The fine is in addition to A$120 million (£67.7 million) the carrier has already agreed to pay in compensation to affected former employees.

The ruling ends a five year “David and Goliath” battle, according to the Australian Transport Workers’ Union (TWU), which had sued the airline over the layoffs.

The airline said in a statement: “Today’s judgment holds us accountable for our actions that caused real harm to our employees.”

Qantas Group chief executive Vanessa 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.

“Over the past 18 months we’ve worked hard to change the way we operate as part of our efforts to rebuild trust with our people and our customers. This remains our highest priority as we work to earn back the trust we lost.”

Michael Kaine, national secretary of the TWU, said: “In 2020 over 1,800 Qantas workers took on a huge and audacious battle against this airline, and today’s decision is a final win for both those workers and the tens of thousands of other TWU members who backed them every step of the way.

“These were committed Qantas workers who had done nothing wrong and had loyally served this company, in many cases for decades.

“These workers took on a fight against a company with almost limitless resources, knowing it was a long shot, and today’s decision is a A$90 million message to corporate Australia that workers will stand up for what’s right.”