Stood-down worker takes Qantas to court over COVID concerns

By Alexandra Coulton

Over the next two weeks, the District Court of NSW will determine whether Qantas’ standing down of a health and safety representative at the start of the pandemic was discriminatory conduct in a criminal breach of the WHS Act.

The hearing follows a decision by the safety regulator that it had sufficient evidence to prosecute Qantas for allegedly targeting and standing down Theo Seremetidis as a result of his advice to workers on their rights to cease unsafe work.

At the time, workers were allegedly being made to clean planes arriving from covid hotspots in China without adequate personal protective equipment, disinfectant or covid-safe training.

Exactly one year after Seremetidis was stood down, he and his workmates were illegally outsourced by the airline, according to the Transport Workers Union (TWU).

“Theo took his role as a health and safety representative seriously,” said Richard Olsen, TWU NSW/Queensland’s branch secretary.

“He was highly trained and had issued several provisional improvement notices on Qantas in accordance with his powers and functions under the WHS Act. He cared deeply about the safety of his colleagues who were responsible for cleaning Qantas aircraft, particularly as the pandemic kicked off and workers were not provided proper PPE or even the basic provision of disinfectant.

“This is a landmark prosecution and a crucial test case for discriminatory conduct against trained worker representatives protected by robust workplace health and safety legislation.

“This criminal trial will be historic. The safety regulator found it had sufficient evidence to prosecute Qantas in the first-ever case of its kind. The matter now falls into the hands of the judge, who will be asked to determine beyond reasonable doubt that Qantas was in criminal breach of the WHS Act.”

TWU national secretary Michael Kaine added that no other company in Australia has ever faced these serious criminal charges.

“The standing down of Theo coincided with Qantas’ efforts to downplay the deadly virus in public commentary and worker briefings. Shortly after, a covid cluster occurred in the Qantas baggage room in Adelaide, which almost claimed the life of one of our members,” Kaine said.

“Over the last two years, we’ve seen that Alan Joyce and other overpaid executives receive multi-million-dollar bonuses for finding new and perverse ways to tear down workers and trash standards at our once-cherished national carrier. We need a Safe and Secure Skies Commission to take the excessive greed out of aviation and restore it to a fair, safe and reliable industry.”

Image: Theo Seremetidis (Facebook/TWUAus)

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discriminatory conduct District Court health and safety representative Michael Kaine qantas Richard Olsen Transport Workers Union WHS Act