Qantas fined $58 million for illegally sacking 1,800 workers during pandemic
Australia’s largest airline, Qantas Airways, has been fined for unlawfully dismissing 1,800 ground staff during the COVID-19 pandemic and replacing them with contractors.
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Australia’s largest airline, Qantas Airways, has been fined A$90 million ($58.64 million) for unlawfully dismissing 1,800 ground staff during the COVID-19 pandemic and replacing them with contractors. The ruling was delivered by the Federal Court of Australia on Monday.
Judge Michael Lee, in his judgment, imposed a penalty close to the maximum available under Australia’s workplace laws, stating it was necessary to ensure the fine could not be seen as “the cost of doing business.” He added that the focus was on creating “real deterrence, including general deterrence to large public companies which might be tempted to ‘get away’ with contravening conduct because the rewards may outweigh the downside risk of effective remedial responses,” according to Reuters.
Of the total penalty, A$50 million will be paid to the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU), which brought the case on behalf of the 1,820 employees dismissed by the airline during the pandemic.
The fine comes around nine months after Qantas and the TWU reached a A$120 million settlement for the workers affected by the illegal terminations.
Following the court’s decision, Qantas shares were down 0.13% in early trade.
