Qantas has begun a High Court appeal against the verdict it fired 1,700 workers illegally.
Two Federal Court rulings from 2021 deemed the airline violated the Fair Work Act.
Qantas then lost appeals.
The TWU union called it the ‘largest case of illegal sackings in Australian history.’
Qantas argued the need to outsource the workforce due to the financial pressures of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Albanese government will draft new legislation if Qantas wins the final appeal.
Qantas breached the Fair Work Act by outsourcing its ground operations to avoid workers’ collective bargaining rights.
Some sacked workers have been out of work for over two years.
The outsourcing was blamed in part to major airport disruption and safety breaches as Australia resumed travel after the pandemic.
