Another blow for Qantas as High Court rejects appeal over illegal sackings
The public image of Qantas continues to take a beating, with the High Court ruling the airline acted illegally when it sacked around 1,700 workers during the pandemic and replaced them with third-party contract crews.
Qantas had previously appealed the findings of the Federal Court in the case brought by the Transport Workers Union. Those findings had been upheld by the full bench of the Federal Court, before Qantas appealed to the High Court. This final ruling will now see Qantas forced to pay a massive fine, and two years’ worth of legal costs for the TWU.
Upon losing the initial Federal Court case, Qantas Group Executive John Gissing said the TWU had a “persecution complex” and “as part of its campaign, the TWU has been trying to discredit the safety of outsourced ground handling.”
He also argued that “Qantas was motivated only by lawful commercial reasons,” namely the financial pressures caused by the pandemic.
Reports of flight delays, rising costs, and missing luggage plagued Qantas’ decision.
Last July, The Guardian reported that as many as 10% of luggage was either lost or not even loaded onto Qantas domestic flights at Sydney airport due to these new baggage handlers.
The High Court ruling today is the latest hit for the embattled airline. Next up is a lawsuit from the ACCC which claims Qantas sold tickets on flights that had already been cancelled.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) alleged last month that “for more than 8,000 flights scheduled to depart between May and July 2022, Qantas kept selling tickets on its website for an average of more than two weeks, and in some cases for up to 47 days, after the cancellation of the flights.”
It is also alleged that, for more than 10,000 flights, “Qantas did not notify existing ticketholders that their flights had been cancelled for an average of about 18 days, and in some cases for up to 48 days.”
It’s quite the baptism-by-fire for new CEO Vanessa Hudson, who stepped into the role last week, after outgoing chief Alan Joyce brought his retirement forward by two months.
“The focus on Qantas and events of the past make it clear to me that the company needs to move ahead with its renewal as a priority,” Joyce said of his early departure.
Got a tip?
Nathan Jolly is the Deputy Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
Linkedin
Paging the QF board. Code – Accountability.
User ID not verified.
Have your say