A number one union has launched a scathing assault on Qantas’ outgoing chief government as a landmark court docket listening to will get underway over the airways dismissal of 1700 workers throughout the pandemic.
“This is the human toll of this cruel, cruel (Alan) Joyce administration,” TWU nationwide secretary Michael Kaine mentioned, alongside a gaggle of sacked Qantas workers, exterior the High Court on Tuesday.
In a earlier assertion, the TWU mentioned Tuesday’s High Court listening to represented an try by Qantas to overturn two earlier Federal Court rulings that discovered its axing of 1700 employees was illegal.
“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 mentioned 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 mentioned.
Kaine mentioned the TWU would ask the High Court to dismiss Qantas’ enchantment.
“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 mentioned the sacked employees he stood beside had been the “human toll of this cruel, cruel Joyce administration.”
The Australian stories the listening to will run for 2 days.
The TWU took motion in opposition to the airline in 2020 and received consecutive court docket battles, regardless of Qantas arguing the choice was wanted to ship financial savings in a time of monetary hardship as a result of pandemic.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au