The Transport Workers Union has been criticized for wasting court time amid a long battle to force Qantas to compensate 1700 illegally dismissed workers.
The Federal Court ruled in 2021 that the troubled airline had acted illegally by dismissing ground service workers in 2020 and outsourcing their tasks to subcontractors.
Attempts by Qantas to overturn the guilty verdict were unsuccessful and the case was sent back to the Federal Court on Monday to determine compensation.
In court, Josh Bornstein, lawyer for the Transportation Workers Union, estimated that the compensation paid to the laid-off workers would be “very, very substantial, amounting to several million dollars.”
The union argued the scale of the compensation estimate is commensurate with Qantas’ culpability in the largest case of illegal dismissals in Australian corporate history.
Troubled airline Qantas faces a multi-million dollar compensation bill after being found guilty of illegally laying off 1,700 workers during the Covid pandemic. Flight attendants in photos
Troubled airline Qantas faces a multi-million dollar compensation bill after being found guilty of illegally laying off 1,700 workers during the Covid pandemic.
The Federal Court ruled in 2021 that the airline acted illegally by dismissing ground handling employees at 11 airports in 2020 and outsourcing their tasks to subcontractors.
The case returned to court on Monday to determine compensation after the High Court rejected Qantas’ attempt to appeal the verdict.
But on Monday, Justice Michael Lee accused the TWU of “wasting the court’s time” after his lawyer, Mark Gibian SC, said the union would seek compensation for lost dues.
Judge Lee said it was “the first time he had heard of it”, despite his calls for parties to file compensation claims last year.
He told the court he intended to deal with all claims against Qantas in one hearing.
Judge Lee asked “what possible excuse” did the union have for being “sitting on its butt” during the months it could have prepared its claim.
“It’s all well and good to send out tweets praising your attention to your members, but perhaps using legal processes responsibly to quickly resolve this issue for members might be a good way to go “, ” he told TWU’s lawyer.
“It’s not good enough.”
Justice Lee said he recognized the need to resolve the years-long dispute and put compensation “in the hands of workers as quickly as possible.”
The court heard that 716 of the 1,700 illegally dismissed employees were TWU members.
Qantas lawyer Matthew Follett SC said the compensation claim would rely on union membership records, which had previously been criticized for their “lack of clarity and rigor”.
Justice Lee said TWU could submit its separate compensation claim after the hearing to determine how much to pay to the illegally dismissed workers.
Outside court, former Qantas employee Don Dixon told reporters he hoped this would finally be the end of a three-year legal battle with the airline.
“Probably the most fundamental thing for all the workers that I represent is that we have done absolutely nothing wrong,” he said.
In a statement, Qantas reiterated its apologies to the 1,700 workers affected.
“Qantas sincerely apologizes and deeply regrets the personal impact the outsourcing decision has had on these former employees,” a spokesperson said.
“We want them to receive fair compensation as quickly as possible.”
The enormity of the potential compensation shows Qantas is guilty of the largest illegal dismissal in Australian corporate history.
Parliamentary Industrial Relations Secretary Mark Buttigieg said the ruling against the airline was a “damning indictment of a once-great company.”
He noted that Qantas accepted $800 million in public funds to keep its employees working before illegally laying off 1700 employees.
“I hope Qantas learns from this lesson, from this litany of failures and from treating its employees so poorly, and comes to the party to do the right thing,” the Labor MP said.
Former Qantas employee Don Dixon told reporters he hoped this would finally be the end of a three-year legal battle with the airline.
“Probably the most fundamental thing for all the workers that I represent is that we have done absolutely nothing wrong,” he said.
The Federal Court ruled in 2021 that Qantas (pictured planes) acted unlawfully by dismissing ground handling workers at 11 airports in 2020 and outsourcing their tasks to subcontractors.
“We haven’t seen anything resembling an apology (or) financial assistance.”
TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said the 1,700 workers had “gone through hell” after being illegally dismissed three years ago.
“It’s time for Qantas to pay up,” he said.
Judge Michael Lee will hear three test cases to determine the amount of compensation to be paid to illegally fired workers.