The Australian court fined Qantas Airways at Au $ 90 million (about R $ 316.2 million) on Monday, 18, for the illegal dismissal of more than 1,800 soil employees at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The fine adds to the AU $ 120 million (R $ 421.5 million) in compensation that the largest in Australia had already agreed to pay to its former employees.
Judge Michael Lee of the Australian Federal Court said the outsourcing of 1,820 positions of luggage and cleaning loaders at Australian airports in late 2020 was the “greatest and most significant violation” of Australian labor laws in its 120 years of history.
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Qantas agreed in December last year to pay AU $ 120 million (R $ 421.5 million) in compensation to former employees, after seven judges of the Higher Court unanimously rejected the appeal of the Sydney airline against the decision that considered the outsourcing of their illegal jobs.
The Transport Workers Union, which brought the airline to court, argued that the company should receive the largest fine available – AU $ 121,212,000 (R $ 425,877,028).
Questioning
Judge Michael Lee ruled that the minimum fine to create a dissuasion should be AU $ 90 million, noting that Qantas executives expected to save AU $ 125 million (R $ 439.2 million) per year with jobsourcing jobs.
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Lee questioned the sincerity of Qantas’s apology for his illegal conduct, noting that the airline later claimed, unsuccessfully, that it should not compensate to its former employees.
“If any additional evidence were necessary for the relentless and aggressive dispute strategy adopted in this case by Qantas, it is provided by this effort to deny any compensation to those in which to which Qantas publicly professed repentance for their misfortune,” Lee said. Company, instead of remorse for damage caused to affected workers, ”he added.
Company apologized
Qantas President Vanessa Hudson, who was the airline’s financial director during the layoffs, said in a statement after Monday’s decision: “We apologized to each of the 1,820 land assistance employees and their families who suffered from it.”
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“The decision to outsource five years ago, especially in such an uncertain moment, caused real difficulties for many of our former employees and their families,” she said. “In the last 18 months, we have worked hard to change the way we operate, as part of our efforts to rebuild the confidence of our employees and customers. It remains our greatest priority as we work to regain the confidence we lose,” he added.
Lee decided that au $ 50 million (R $ 175.7 million) of the fine would be destined to the union, as no Australian government agency showed interest in investigating or processing Qantas.
“Without the union…, Qantas’ conduct would never have been exposed and the company would never have been responsible for its illegal conduct,” Lee said. “Therefore, the union brought to the court’s attention a substantial and significant transgression of a public obligation by a powerful and important employer,” he added.
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A hearing will later be held to decide where the AU $ 40 million (R $ 140.5 million) remaining in the fine will be allocated.
‘We face a relentless giant and won’
Michael Kaine, national secretary of the union that represents 60,000 members, said the decision was fair and that he ends a five -year judicial battle that he expected to win.
“It is a significant industrial result – the most significant – in the history of Australia and sends a very clear message to Qantas and all employers in Australia: treat your employees illegally and you will be responsible,” Kaine told reporters. “Against all the odds, we faced a giant who was relentless and won,” he added.
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Qantas admitted to having negotiated illegally with passengers and employees in their responses to the economic challenges of the pandemic.
Last year, Qantas agreed to pay AU $ 120 million (R $ 421.5 million) in compensation and a fine for the sale of tickets on thousands of canceled flights.
The Australian Commission of Competition and Consumer, consumer protection body, sued the airline at the Federal Court, claiming that Qantas was involved in false, misleading or illusory conduct when announcing tickets to more than 8,000 flights from May 2021 to July 2022 that had already been canceled. / AP
*This content was translated with the aid of artificial intelligence tools and revised by the editorial team of Estadão.
