‘There’s still a long way to go to bring back the flying kangaroo Australians used to love’: Qantas agrees to pay $120m to illegally sacked workers
Qantas has agreed to pay $120 million in compensation to more than 1,800 employees that were illegally sacked and replaced with contract workers during the height of the pandemic, after years of legal headache.
Qantas and the Transport Workers Union agreed to the $120 million figure after the Federal Court’s ordered the carrier to pay $170,000 in compensation to three test case employees in October.
The compensation will be administered by Maurice Blackburn on behalf of the TWU, and will be paid directly to the 1,820 impacted former employees, with individual amounts payable to employees to reportedly span $10,000 and $100,000.
Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said the ruling was “an important step in bringing closure to these individuals, and I want to reiterate our sincere apologies to those impacted and their families”.
“We know this has been a difficult period for those affected and are pleased we have been able to work closely with the TWU to expedite this process and resolve it ahead of Christmas.”
TWU national secretary Michael Kaine warned “there’s still a long way to go to bring back the flying kangaroo Australians used to love,” saying it was nevertheless “encouraging” that Hudson “has agreed to establish a pool to ensure these workers receive justice”.
Kaine said Qantas treated poorly those who “helped build the Spirit of Australia, working many decades to help make Qantas a national icon”.
“They’ve stood by each other during what for some has been the most difficult times of their lives, through family breakdowns, financial stress and mental hardship,” he continued
“Soon these brave men and women will receive long-awaited compensation.”
This brings to an end a drawn out process that started in 2021, after the TWU brought the lawsuit against the airline, claiming that sacking the employees and replacing them with outsourced workers was illegal. The Federal Court ruled that Qantas acted unlawfully, which the airline unsuccessfully appealed in both the full Federal Court and the High Court.
Kaine didn’t mince words when speaking about the airline’s tactics in October, calling Qantas “Australia’s biggest corporate bully”, saying they wrongly informed their sacked employees “they were just a casualty of the pandemic.”
“In reality they were victims of a systematic attempt by Qantas to decimate the pay and conditions of its workforce,” he said.
“It’s astounding that Qantas attempted to argue it should not pay a dollar of compensation to workers it illegally sacked to prevent them accessing workplace rights.
“It was an added kick in the guts after the pain and suffering the airline has caused to these workers and their families.”
A separate Federal Court hearing will determine any further penalties in the new year.
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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