Qantas ordered to pay $170,000 in damages for unlawful dismissal
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Civil Aviation Resources Network, October 21, 2024: According to Reuters, an Australian court ordered on the 21st that Qantas must pay a total of A$170,000 in compensation to three baggage handlers who were illegally fired in 2020.
Federal Court Judge Michael Lee ruled that Qantas must compensate each fired employee with A$30,000, A$40,000 and A$100,000 respectively.
Qantas claimed that the layoffs were reasonable and a cost-cutting measure during the outbreak, and took the labor lawsuit all the way to the High Court.
Michael Lee said he found that if Qantas had not illegally outsourced its ground handling business in 2020, it would have legally outsourced it in 2021 to help save about A$100 million a year.
Michael Kaine, national secretary of the Transport Workers Union, said: "Qantas says they have changed their ways, and it's time to prove it."
Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson, who took office in November 2023, said in a statement that the company apologized to the affected employees, "We know that Qantas has a responsibility to learn from this."