Australian airline Qantas Airways has been fined AUD90 million for unlawfully dismissing more than 1 800 ground staff during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The penalty, one of the heaviest ever imposed for breaches of Australian labour laws, comes in addition to the AUD120 million the carrier had already agreed to pay in compensation to the affected workers.
The Federal Court in Sydney found that Qantass decision to outsource roles such as baggage handling and cleaning at airports in late 2020 constituted the most serious breach of workplace laws in the countrys history.