Sheldon blamed the previous Coalition government for providing $2bn of subsidies to Qantas during the pandemic “without any obligations” on the airline, allowing it to outsource jobs.In its submissions filed on Friday, Qantas argued that its ground staff were prohibited from taking protected industrial action until their existing pay deal expired on 31 December 2020, a month after the decision to outsource their jobs.
The law “simply does not extend so far as to protect a person from adverse action in respect of rights that they do not presently have”, it said. Qantas said it had done no more than exercise an employer’s right to “bring the employment relationship to an end” rather than allow it to continue until the law “might confer on the employee greater rights”.
In December, Kaine accused Qantas of “dragging out a costly legal battle rather than reinstate or compensate the experienced workers”.Our Australian afternoon update email breaks down the key national and international stories of the day and why they matterNewsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our