A leading union has launched a scathing attack on Qantas’ outgoing chief executive as a landmark court hearing gets underway over the airlines dismissal of 1700 employees during the pandemic.
“This is the human toll of this cruel, cruel (Alan) Joyce administration,” TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said, alongside a group of sacked Qantas employees, outside the High Court on Tuesday.
In a previous statement, the TWU said Tuesday’s High Court hearing represented an attempt by Qantas to overturn two previous Federal Court rulings that found its axing of 1700 workers was unlawful.
“Today the High Court will be asked to determine once and for all whether Qantas outsourcing is not just cruel, irresponsible and bad for business, but whether it’s confirmed as the largest case of illegal sacking in Australian history,” Kaine said on Tuesday.
“(Qantas) They’re going to try and overturn two decisions of the Federal Court, one from the full Federal Court, that said that 1700 workers represented here … were illegally sacked so that Qantas did not have to bargain with them, and did not have to face the prospect of those workers exercising their workplace right to take protected industrial action,” he said.
Kaine said the TWU would ask the High Court to dismiss Qantas’ appeal.
“In essence, we’ll be saying that the Fair Work Act is designed to protect workers, to allow them to exercise their workplace rights, not to give companies like Qantas open slather to sack workers and prevent them from exercising those rights.”
Kaine said the sacked workers he stood beside were the “human toll of this cruel, cruel Joyce administration.”
The Australian reports the hearing will run for two days.
The TWU took action against the airline in 2020 and won consecutive court battles, despite Qantas arguing the decision was needed to deliver savings in a time of financial hardship due to the pandemic.
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