Qantas loses its HC appeal over pandemic worker sacking
More now on the high court ruling upholding that Qantas acted illegally when it sacked 17-hundred ground crew during the pandemic. Damien pollard was one of the Qantas baggage handlers to lose his job. He explains the impersonal and disrespectful way in which he was sacked.
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00:00 We took Stand Down during 2020 with the pandemic.
00:07 The day that I started back at work after about six or seven months on Stand Down, we
00:14 were called into our team room and the TV was put on.
00:19 It was a blank screen and there was an audio recording basically to say that we had failed
00:27 in the tender and that we had lost our jobs.
00:31 And what was it like for you to get that message?
00:34 How long had you been working for Qantas at that stage?
00:36 Yep, so I'd been working there for about 13 years and I progressed nicely through my job
00:45 and I'd planned to stay there for life, as many people that work for Qantas do.
00:51 It was absolutely devastating, not only for myself but for all my colleagues and the various
01:01 reactions that happened after the news was announced was testimony to how life-destroying
01:08 in some aspects it was.
01:11 Was that an audio message from Alan Joyce or who was delivering the news?
01:16 No, and forgive me, I can't.
01:20 That actual morning was quite a blur.
01:22 I can't remember who gave the message but it was definitely not Alan Joyce.
01:27 He remained apart from this decision from day one.
01:34 Andrew David was the gentleman that seemed to be in charge of the tender process and
01:41 the associated decisions that came with it.
01:44 Yeah, so you were knocked for six by this news that you'd lost your job after working
01:48 for Qantas for 13 years.
01:50 Did you go looking for different work straight away or was there a period of uncertainty
01:54 as to whether you should do that or not?
01:57 Yeah, definitely.
01:59 So I started looking for work and I was lucky to pick up a number of jobs.
02:05 Unfortunately, they weren't as meaningful as what I'd been working in and a little bit
02:12 too was because of my own mental health suffered a little bit, was to made it very hard to
02:21 accept that I was working in other areas.
02:26 And that was not just for me, that happened with a lot of my colleagues.
02:33 So at my age, I'm in my mid-50s or actually on the wrong side of mid-50s now, it has made
02:40 it a lot harder for myself and a lot of my colleagues to find meaningful work because
02:47 they unfortunately it happens in the employment world, but you can even in times with when
02:56 there's shortages of employees, if you apply for a job and you're over that magical 50
03:03 mark, your replies are very limited.
03:06 Yeah, so over the last three years since you lost your job, have you had work consistently
03:11 through then or not?
03:14 Not consistently.
03:15 I've been very lucky that I was the local ACT TWU delegate.
03:20 So I've been able to do a lot of work in regards to this case that was resolved today.
03:28 But I had been lucky enough to do various jobs, but obviously I've still got a little
03:33 while to go before I retire and I would like to now find something that I can settle down
03:40 and work in for the next 10 to 12 years.
03:44 But yeah, unfortunately, no, not at this stage.
03:46 Yeah.
03:47 And so as a result of this decision today, you don't get your job back?
03:52 Definitely not.
03:53 During the original case in the federal court before Justice Lee, it was mentioned that
04:01 if we were to be reinstated, Qantas reiterated that they would just find another way that
04:09 we would be dismissed as quickly as possible.
04:13 So the justice presided over the first case, decided it was in the best interest of the
04:19 staff so we could move on and get on with our lives, that he wouldn't subject us to
04:25 that happening again and that financial compensation would be the way to go.
04:30 And so after today's decision, though, do you feel personally that you'd like to actually
04:34 get back into Qantas?
04:36 Because we heard mentioned at that media conference today that the people who lost their jobs
04:43 still really believe in Qantas.
04:47 Very much so.
04:48 And it's something that's come through from all our members over the last three years,
04:53 how much they loved working for Qantas.
04:56 Yes, they're going through a very difficult stage at the moment, and I'm sure a large
05:02 percentage of my colleagues would love to help Qantas get back on its feet and become
05:08 a great airline again, because we know they're a great airline when they're at the top.
05:12 Unfortunately, it just seems morale has dropped to a point where it's going to be very, very
05:18 difficult for the new CEO to rally the troops, so to speak, and a path to rejuvenation maybe
05:28 is probably the best way to put it.
05:31 And yes, so you're now at the stage where you don't want to push to get your job back
05:36 from Qantas, but there's the call for compensation now.
05:40 You've mentioned that you've worked a fair bit over the last couple of years since you
05:44 lost your job with Qantas.
05:45 Have you, do you think you've lost out financially at all over that period compared to if you'd
05:50 been continuing to work as a baggage handler?
05:53 And what personally do you believe you deserve in compensation now?
05:58 Definitely, and undoubtedly there's some of my colleagues that have prospered since they've
06:06 left the company and moved on and got really good well-paid jobs and are very happy.
06:13 The majority, unfortunately, are working in jobs that are a lot lower paying, a lot less
06:20 meaningful for themselves.
06:22 And it was discussed earlier, one of the reasons why is because our skills are not easily transferable
06:28 over to the real world.
06:33 When we're talking about pushing back planes or towing planes or packing 120 bags in 45
06:39 degree heat into a back of a small coffin-like area in an aircraft, it takes a special skill
06:48 to be able to do that.
06:50 Mind you, in Canberra with minus six degrees, I would argue that's just...
06:55 And so, yeah, how do you, how do they work out compensation now?
06:59 And maybe you don't want to go down this path publicly, but can you give us an idea of what
07:03 you think you deserve?
07:05 No, that's all in the hands of the federal court.
07:08 And I believe that we now go back to Justice Lee and he will see fit to order what compensation
07:17 he believes is beneficial for the employees, whether that's $1 or $20 or whatever.
07:26 I've always said from the start, for me, the moral victory is really important to win,
07:34 to show people this is what the company did, took advantage of a pandemic to rid a workforce
07:42 that they weren't happy with because of the high rate of unionization for them.
07:50 So for me, it's the moral victory, but if there is financial compensation as well, it'll
07:56 be gratefully received.
07:58 [BLANK_AUDIO]