Qantas Faces Millions in Penalties After Losing ‘Test Case’ Over COVID-Era Sackings

Published on October 21, 2024

Australia’s national air carrier faces what could be a compensation bill running into the tens of millions after losing an employment case in the courts. Last year, the High Court ruled that the airline broke the law when it stood down 1,700 ground crew members in August 2020, and the Federal Court has on Oct. 21 awarded $170,000 in compensation to three workers in what were test cases. Lawyers for Qantas and the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) will now have to determine a final compensation figure for the income lost by all sacked staff, limited to 12 months after their roles were outsourced. The company decided to outsource the 1,700 ground staff jobs in November 2020, and by March 2021, all had been let go....

Continue reading on website
Other news

Mobile Phone Ban Working, Say Principals

October 21, 2024
The New South Wales state government’s 2023 decision to ban mobile phones in thousands of public school classrooms is working, according to a survey of more than 1,000 principals—95 percent of whom reported positive results.The survey, conducted by the state Education Department, found 81 percent of principals agreed student learning had improved, while 87 percent said students were less distracte

Regulations Forcing Australians to Buy the ‘BMW’ Equivalent of a House: Think Tank Director

October 21, 2024
Australians are forced into buying “the housing equivalent of a BMW” because of excessive regulation, says Graham Young, executive director of the Australian Institute for Progress (AIP) think tank.He criticised the National Construction Code (NCC)—which mandates the country’s home building requirements—leading to extra costs for new housing.“People should be able to buy a basic house and retrofit