A major union is hoping to force Qantas to pay millions in compensation to former workers whose jobs were illegally outsourced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup The court will hear three test cases of retrenched workers to help determine an appropriate level of financial compensation.Barrister Mark Gibian SC said one of the workers felt his “depression” at having been retrenched affected relationships with his family.Another worker said she felt “stressed and anxious” at being forced to look for a new job and took Valium to deal with the anxiety.
He said some workers had lost properties and had “family breakdowns” as a result of losing their jobs. “We argue that the workers would have remained in employment for a significant period of time and as a result are entitled to a significant amount of compensation,” he said.