Qantas struck a record fine for illegal abbreviations during pandemic

Australian court fines the Qantas Airlines Record of $ 90 million ($ 43 million; $ 59 million) for illegal dismissal of more than 1800 land workers During the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Australian Union of Transport Workers said it welcomed the punishment, which is most imposed by a court for violations of laws on industrial relations in the history of the country.

Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said in the decision that he wanted the fine to act as a “true deterrent” to other employers.

The airline said in a statement that it had agreed to pay the fine and that the decision was responsible for actions that caused “real harm” to their employees.

“We sincerely apologize to each of the 1820 Earth officers and their families who have suffered as a result,” said Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson.

“The decision to outsource five years ago, especially during such an uncertain time, caused real difficulties for many of our former team and their families.”

The fine is the largest financial penalty issued to an Australian company under the Fair Work Act, which sets rules for employees.

The largest airline in Australia is confronted with a long-standing legal battle over its decision in 2020 to outsource its ground operations, which it is needed is a financial measure, since the aviation industry is stagnant in the pandemic.

The Qantas Court was ordered to pay $ 50 million from the sentence directly to the Union of Transport Workers, who had judged the airline for cuts.

The decision marks the “end of David and Goliath’s five -year battle” and is “a moment of justice for loyal workers who loved their work in the airline,” the transport said.

The fine is close to the maximum punishment that can be imposed for violation of the laws in Australia.

Judge Lee said the fine aims to discourage other major companies to think that they can “get out” with such moves, even if they think the benefits may cost the risk to catch up.

In court documents Judge Lee called into question the corporate culture of qantas And whether the company’s remorse is real.

He noted that he was a “relentless and aggressive” strategy of the company as a sign of effort to avoid paying compensation to workers, whom he said earlier he regretted.

In 2021, the court found that Qantas had partially assigned its workforce to limit the industrial actions of workers. Many of the tangled workers were members of the UnionS

Qantas’s sentence is at the height of $ 120 million in compensation that the airline agreed to pay the dismissed workers in 2024 after losing numerous complaints in court.

But it may not be big enough to deter other companies to do the same as the airline may have saved even more money by assigning its staff during the pandemic, said Dan Trindade, a labor law expert at the legal company Clayton UTC.

“If not regarded as sufficient determination, the government may encounter calls to increase penalties.”

The unlawful dismissals have been among several scandals involving the airline in recent years. Last year of Qantas was ordered to pay $ 100 million for Ticket Sale for thousands of flights He had already decided to cancel.