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Qantas Airways has been fined 90 million Australian dollars (USD 59 million) for illegally terminating more than 1800 ground staff at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The penalty comes on top of the AUD 120 million (USD 78 million) compensation the airline had already agreed to pay affected employees. Federal Court Justice Michael Lee described the outsourcing of 1820 baggage handler and cleaner roles in late 2020 as the “largest and most significant breach” of Australian labour laws in more than a century. Last December Qantas agreed to the compensation payout after the High Court unanimously upheld an earlier ruling that outsourcing the jobs was unlawful rejecting the airline’s appeal. What Federal Court Said On Fine? The Transport Workers Union which took the airline to court had argued the airline should receive the largest fine available AUD 121212000 (USD 78969735). Lee ruled that the minimum fine to create a deterrence should be AUD 90 million (USD 59 million) noting that Qantas executives had expected to save AUD 125 million (USD 81 million) a year through outsourcing the jobs. Lee questioned the sincerity of Qantass apology for its illegal conduct noting that the airline later unsuccessfully argued that it owed no compensation to its former staff. “If any further evidence was needed of the unrelenting and aggressive litigation strategy adopted in this case by Qantas it is provided by this effort directed to denying any compensation whatsoever to those in respect of whom Qantas was publicly professing regret for their misfortune” Lee said. I do think that the people in charge of Qantas now have some genuine regret but this more likely reflects the damage that this case has done to the company rather than remorse for the damage done to the affected workers” Lee added. Qantas Former CFO On Fine Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson who was the airlines chief financial officer during the layoffs said in a statement after Mondays decision: “We sincerely apologise to each and every one of the 1820 ground handling employees and to their families who suffered as a result.” “The decision to outsource five years ago particularly during such an uncertain time caused genuine hardship for many of our former team and their families she said. “Over the past 18 months weve worked hard to change the way we operate as part of our efforts to rebuild trust with our people and our customers. This remains our highest priority as we work to earn back the trust we lost” she added. Lee ruled that AUD 50 million (USD 33 million) of the fine go to the union because no Australian government agency had shown interest in investigating or prosecuting Qantas. (With Inputs From Agencies)