High court rules Qantas illegally outsourced 1,700 jobs during pandemic

Qantas has lost its high court bid to overturn a ruling that it illegally outsourced 1,700 ground handler jobs. On Wednesday the high court unanimously upheld a full federal court decision exposing the embattled airline to a mammoth compensation bill for laying off staff at 10 airports in November 2020. In July 2021 the federal court ruled Qantas’s outsourcing of the workers was in part driven by a desire to avoid industrial action, which is a breach of the Fair Work Act. The decision is a major win for the Transport Workers Union, which was supported in the case by an intervention from workplace relations minister Tony Burke. Ahead of the high court decision TWU national secretary, Michael Kaine, said the outsourcing decision was part of outgoing CE Alan Joyce’s “spiteful management style” that had damaged the airline’s reputation. The union cited complaints increasing by 70% in 2022 amid high cancellations, delays and lost baggage. The TWU responded to the result by calling for a public apology from Qantas and for the chairman, Richard Goyder, and the entire board to be replaced by new directors, including a worker representative. “Qantas workers have made history today,” Kaine said. “It has been three years and 20 days since Alan Joyce first announced the decision to outsource these workers, and they have not stopped fighting for a moment to ensure justice was served. “The final act of this board should be to strip Alan Joyce of his bonuses and follow him out the door. “The Joyce regime has been toppled, but the airline cannot achieve the reset necessary for its survival under the same board that resided over the largest case of illegal sackings in Australian corporate history. Richard Goyder cannot make it through another day as chair.” In the majority judgment, chief justice Susan Kiefel and justices Stephen Gageler, Jacqueline Gleeson and Jayne Jagot said the meaning of the Act was “readily ascertainable”.<br/>