By Mike Cherney
SYDNEY–Australia’s highest court dismissed an appeal from Qantas Airways over its decision to outsource ground-handling operations during the Covid-19 pandemic, siding with a union that argued the move was illegal.
Lower court decisions found the airline breached the Fair Work Act, according to the Transport Workers Union. Outsourcing the workers prevented them from exercising their industrial rights, including to collectively bargain and take protected industrial action, the union said.
Some 1,700 workers were affected, according to the union. It called on the airline’s new chief executive, Vanessa Hudson, to publicly apologize.
“Qantas workers have made history today,” said Michael Kaine, the union’s national secretary. “They have not stopped fighting for a moment to ensure justice was served.”
In response, Qantas said it acknowledged and accepted the High Court’s decision. It said outsourcing the workers came as Qantas sought to restructure its business amid the disruption from the pandemic, when global travel largely came to a halt.
“As we have said from the beginning, we deeply regret the personal impact the outsourcing decision had on all those affected and we sincerely apologize for that,” Qantas said in a statement.
The airline said the lower court has ruled out the reinstatement of workers, but it will now consider penalties for the breach and compensation for the relevant employees.
According to the airline, the lower court originally found that while there were valid and lawful commercial reasons for the outsourcing, it could not rule out that Qantas also had an unlawful reason–avoiding future industrial action. The High Court has now effectively upheld that view, the airline said.
Qantas is seeking to repair its reputation after regulators alleged it had been dishonest with customers and lawmakers criticized its pricey airfares. Its former longtime chief executive, Alan Joyce, recently stepped down early.
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