Federal Court judge Michael Lee’s frustration at the way Qantas defended an unlawful outsourcing case has boiled over in his final judgment, which imposed a record $90m fine against the airline, $50m of which will be paid to the Transport Workers Union.

The airline says it was not an official order and an employee has been told never to make the same mistake again.

Un juez multó el lunes a Qantas Airways con 90 millones de dólares australianos (59 millones de dólares) por despedir ilegalmente a más de

The $90m penalty imposed on Qantas for its illegal outsourcing of ground crews is unlikely to trouble the airline financially, with savings already made from the decision eclipsing the cost of the long-running court ordeal.

Qantas is being warned it risks losing its place in the national psyche after its latest indiscretion: a $90 million fine for the illegal sacking of workers.

Qantas has been ordered to pay the largest industrial relations penalty in Australian corporate history over the illegal sacking of 1,820 workers during the coronavirus pandemic, after a judge criticised the airline’s lack of genuine contrition over the affair.