Qantas has been found guilty by a New South Wales (NSW) court for unlawfully standing down a ground staff member who had expressed concerns about COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic. The case was filed by SafeWork NSW on behalf of Theo Seremetidis, an employee of Qantas Ground Services Pty Ltd (QGS), a subsidiary of Qantas.
The lawsuit alleged that QGS had engaged in discriminatory conduct by standing down Mr. Seremetidis in February 2020, after he directed his coworkers not to service flights from China due to concerns about the increasing risks of contracting COVID-19 from those flights. QGS issued Mr. Seremetidis with a notice to not attend work while it investigated the issue.
In his defense, Mr. Seremetidis cited the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) and claimed that he had made the decision based on government orders, bulletins, and medical research indicating the transmission of COVID-19 from human to human without symptoms. He was also appointed a health and safety representative within the company.
After considering the evidence, NSW District Court Judge David Russell concluded that QGS had engaged in discriminatory conduct toward Mr. Seremetidis because he had exercised a power or performed a function as a health and safety representative. The court found that Mr. Seremetidis was conscientious in performing his duties and kept himself up to date with literature and government announcements regarding COVID-19.
Following the ruling, Mr. Seremetidis expressed relief that the court case was over and stated that he was doing what he thought was right. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) praised the court’s decision and hailed Mr. Seremetidis as a hero, while also calling on Qantas to accept the verdict and reverse its business model of outsourcing ground staff. Qantas, on the other hand, stated that it was reviewing the ruling and recognized the uncertainty caused by the pandemic.