Qantas and the Transport Workers Union both lost their appeals Wednesday of a judge’s decision finding the airline had decided to axe 1,800 ground staff partly to prevent employees bringing industrial action but refusing to reinstate the workers. The airline has vowed to take the case to the High Court.
The High Court has ordered the building and construction union to pay a maximum fine of $63,000 for telling workers they could not be on a job site if they were not union members, saying its serial offending showed it had no “regard for the law”.
A decision by Qantas to outsource its ground staff was not timed to head off industrial action by the Transport Workers’ Union, the Full Federal Court has heard as the airline seeks to overturn a finding that it engaged in adverse action when it terminated around 1,800 employees last year.
The Transport Workers Union has appealed a judge’s decision that compensation was a more appropriate remedy for 1,800 Qantas workers who had been denied the “matchless blessing” of a job than reinstatement.
A judge has rejected the TWU’s request for the reinstatement of around 1,800 outsourced Qantas workers, finding it was inevitable that the airline would retrench the workers again as soon as lawfully possible.
A judge has criticised Qantas and the Transport Workers’ Union for their “not particularly helpful” public comments about whether or not ground staff will be reinstated upon resolution of their long-running outsourcing dispute.
Qantas has lost its second attempt to delay a hearing on further relief pending an appeal in its outsourcing spat with the Transport Workers Union, with a judge finding a stay would prejudice the union more than the airline.
Qantas has filed a bid to delay a hearing on penalty after a judge found the airline outsourced ground operations partly to prevent employees engaging in industrial action, but the TWU has said a stay would be “unfair” to 1,600 former ground staff.
Qantas Airways is seeking to overturn a Federal Court finding that its decision to axe 2,000 ground staff and replace them with labour hire workers during the COVID-19 pandemic was made partially to stop workers engaging in industrial action.
Qantas has lost a case brought by the Transport Workers Union that challenged the airline’s decision to axe 2,000 staff and replace them with “insecure” labour hire workers, with a judge finding Qantas boss Andrew David outsourced ground operations partly to prevent employees engaging in industrial action.