An Australian court has fined airline giant Qantas a record A$90m (£43m; $59m) for illegally sacking more than 1,800 ground workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Australia’s Transport Workers’ Union said it welcomed the penalty, which is the largest imposed by a court for violations of industrial relations laws in the country’s history.
Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said in the judgement that he wanted the fine to act as a “real deterrence” to other employers.
The airline said in a statement that it has agreed to pay the fine and that the ruling holds it accountable for actions that caused “real harm” to its employees.
