Australia’s most successful plane cancelling service Qantas has faced a huge consequence for illegally terminating a worker in 2020. The airline has been fined $250,000 by the NSW District Court, and even though it’s not the type of annoying termination I’d like Qantas to cop a fine for, it’s a good start.
In 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic began to take affect, lift truck driver and health and safety representative Theo Seremetidis raised concerns to his supervisors about the COVID risk posed to workers cleaning flights from China without masks.
The health representative said that masks should be worn while cleaning the potentially hazardous aircraft, and encouraged other employees not to engage in unsafe jobs.
As a result of this, Seremetidis was stood down from his job by Qantas Ground Services (QGS) at Sydney International Airport in early 2020.
Seremetidis then took his employer to court for what he believed to be an unlawful termination of employment. His belief was substantiated by an investigation by the Transport Workers’ Union who concluded he was well within his rights as a health and safety representative to raise the concerns he did.
Last year Judge David Russell said he believed “beyond a reasonable doubt and that QGS is guilty of the offence charged”.
On Wednesday March 6, Judge Russel gave his verdict that QGS would be convicted, and forced to pay a $250K fine for unlawful termination, saying that “the conduct of Qantas is shameful”.
“The effect of the conduct of QGS upon Mr Seremetidis personally was traumatic and long lasting,” the judge said in court when explaining his verdict.
The win for Seremetidis has been hailed as historic, due to it being the first case in Australian labour history where a major airline has been convicted for a breach in workplace health and safety regulations.
Half of the $250K fine has been ordered by Judge Russel to be rewarded to the prosecutor.
Seremetidis himself will be compensated with $21,000 from his former employer, but he says that “the most important thing is the conviction.”
“I’m glad to say that all future HSR [Health and Safety Representatives] will have extra protections based on today’s outcome,” Seremetidis said outside the court.
Liam O’Brien, assistant secretary of the Australian Council Of Trade Unions (ACTU) has said that this win will “send a message” to any employers trying to ignore their workers’ safety.
“Qantas used to be an airline we were proud to call our own, but they have shown us time and time again that they are more concerned about their profits than the lives and wellbeing of their workers,” stated O’Brien.
Qantas has apologised for the unlawful firing of the health representative, with a spokesperson confirming they apologised to Seremetidis too.
“We agreed to compensation for Theo Seremetidis and the court has today made orders for that compensation to be paid,” said the spokesperson.
Qantas announced it made $873 million in profit after tax in the last six months of 2023.
Hopefully it will find a spare quarter of a million somewhere.
