The tussle between Qantas and Transport Workers Union (TWU) will be heard at the Australian High Court in Canberra today. The issue started when the airline terminated over 1700 of the airline’s ground staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Qantas has argued that during the pandemic the airline dismissed baggage handling and cleaning roles at ten different airports to sustain financially. The submission from Qantas noted that the move would save the airline up to $67 million once the industry returned to normal, reports ABC News.
During the pandemic, Qantas revenue dropped by 91% with the airline reporting a pre-tax loss of $1.83 bn.
Qantas had lost its case twice with the Australian Federal Court, determining the airline's move to outsource the jobs was a breach of the law and the Fair Work Act. The decision from the airline to now take this to the Australian High Court will then hope to determine that Qantas's move was due to the time of the dismissals, that workers were not engaged in exercising any workplace rights, such as holding a protected action ballot or in a position to do that, because their enterprise agreement did not run out until later in the year.
Michael Kaine, National Secretary, TWU said: “Qantas’s actions constituted the largest case of illegal sackings in Australian history and said the high court’s ruling on the matter would have widespread ramifications for workers’ rights beyond just the aviation sector. Today the high court will be asked to determine once and for all whether Qantas outsourcing was not just cruel, irresponsible and bad for business, but whether it is confirmed as the largest case of illegal sackings in Australian history. This is Qantas’s last chance.”
He criticised Qantas for spending significant amounts on the high court proceedings, instead of using the money to rebuild the company and its damaged reputation.