Qantas to pay $170,000 to three illegally sacked workers

Qantas has been ordered to pay compensation of up to $100,000 to workers who were made redundant during the COVID pandemic.

Transcript

00:00Justice Michael Lee dealt with three test cases for compensation, and for each he's

00:08now awarded $30,000, $40,000 and $100,000.

00:13Each test case deals with unique circumstances regarding how the individual was able to respond

00:19in terms of finding employment, as well as the mental and personal anguish taken on as

00:25a result of these now illegal sackings by Qantas in 2020.

00:30It was 1,700 workers who were given the boot when Qantas sought to outsource baggage handling

00:35and crew checks on the ground across 10 airports in Australia back in 2020.

00:45Now after several fights in both the federal and high court, they've been ordered to pay

00:49out these compensation figures, however, the total amount they need to pay out is not entirely

00:55clear.

00:56That will require negotiation between the Transport Workers' Union, who represented

01:01the sacked workers in this case, as well as Qantas to determine where workers sit across

01:07these three different types of compensation payouts.

01:10The union says they're hoping Qantas negotiates in good faith, and that the court has sent

01:15a message that these sackings were not only illegal, but will face significant financial

01:21punishment.

01:22And today is finally the day of justice, after over four years, after having to go now to

01:29four different courts, including the highest court in the land, which unanimously of course

01:35found that Qantas acted illegally in sacking these 1,700 workers.

01:42Well guess what?

01:43Today is your day, and importantly, the federal court has today sent a powerful message to

01:50corporate Australia, that if you engage in this sort of behaviour, you will be held

01:55to account.

01:56Alongside lawyers in the Transport Workers' Union were some of the workers impacted.

02:01Don Dixon spoke of the personal toll on his and colleagues' life after they were let go

02:07by Qantas in 2020.

02:09So many families struggled in this campaign, losing your job as quickly and as brutally

02:16as it was, it was a horrible thing.

02:18We thought we were there for the rest of our lives.

02:20While the Transport Workers' Union estimates the total cost for this compensation payout

02:25could be in excess of $100 million, the reality is the pain for Qantas doesn't end here.

02:31We also will see them face a separate penalty.

02:35This will be for breaking the law and not be paid out to workers in the form of compensation.

02:41So the total bill still yet to be known.

02:44Mediation is set between the two parties in November, and the matter will return to the

02:49federal court.

02:50Beforehand though, Qantas has its annual general meeting in Hobart this Friday, where it's

02:57expected they will be not only speaking to shareholders, but also reacting to this judgement.