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Test case against Qantas’ ‘unlawful outsourcing’ to be filed
On Wednesday, plaintiff firm Maurice Blackburn launched a Federal Court challenge against the “unlawful outsourcing” of 2,000 Qantas workers.
Jerome Doraisamy
The test case, being filed for the Transport Workers Union (TWU) in the Federal Court of Australia, follows the airline’s recent announcement that it would be outsourcing 2,000 ground staff and replacing them with insecure labour-hire workers.
In a statement, Maurice Blackburn principal Josh Bornstein said that the case would test whether Qantas’ recent steps were indeed unlawful.
“This legal challenge will put outsourcing on trial,” he said.
“If Qantas can replace thousands of its employees with cheaper, insecure labour hire employees then this can happen to any other employee in any Australian workplace. This important test case for the TWU will determine whether Qantas’ decision to sack 2,000 workers to outsource these jobs breaches workplace laws.
“The Fair Work Act makes clear that you can’t sack employees because they are entitled to collectively bargained employment conditions. By outsourcing this work, Qantas is seeking to avoid collective bargaining under the Fair Work Act.
“If the outsourcing proceeds, Qantas will no longer have to negotiate with the workers who perform the work. Instead Qantas will be able to unilaterally impose a price for the services of outsourced workers, and those outsourced workers will not be allowed to bargain with Qantas under current IR laws.”
The age of coronavirus, he posited, has brought into sharp focus the plight of insecure labou- hire and outsourced workers in Australia.
“They aren’t paid properly, they work in unsafe conditions and they are forced to scrounge a living working at multiple jobs. Qantas has decided to pour petrol onto that fire,” he argued.
“This decision is bad for workers, customers and the Australian economy. More low wage, insecure jobs means less spending and more damage to a fragile economy. The only beneficiaries are big shareholders and Qantas executives.”
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. In June 2024, he also assumed the editorship of HR Leader. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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