Humiliating apology from Qantas as High Court backs Transport Workers Union on unlawful outsourcing of 1700 staff

"We sincerely apologise"

Three humilitating words from Qantas that underscores the enormity of the High Court loss which has handed the Transport Workers Union an unlikely but hard fought victory after more than a decade of industrial warfare.

It's a far cry from October 2011 when then Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce grounded the entire airline - domestically and globally - in a brazen Saturday afternoon response to industrial action by three key aviation unions.

Anthony Albanese - Labor's Federal Transport Minister at the time - was furious he'd been kept out of the loop until the shutdown went public, accusing Qantas of a "breach of faith with the government".

But the animosity between Qantas and unions existed long before the shock grounding in 2011. 

Here's my coverage from October 2011 including an interview with Alan Joyce in a special Sunday edition of AM

Unions - aware of pressure from major investors to cut costs to boost dividends and shares - had already been pushing back against plans for outsourcing of ground services while negotiating for better wages, conditions and job security.

Alan Joyce's immediate predecessor Geoff Dixon had been known to be considering outsourcing options, such as selling off flight catering, but never executed plans during his reign.

At the time of the grounding, Mr Joyce told reporters he taken action in locking out workers to stop industrial action from "killing Qantas slowly" accusing unions of "trashing our strategy and brand."

Now Qantas stands accused of trashing its own brand - without the help of trade unions.

The massive loss of face for Qantas in accepting a ruling that it acted unlawfully by outsourcing almost 1700 staff further erodes a corporate reputation already in tatters and perhaps beyond repair.

The High Court loss and a ruling that it effectively dispensed with long-serving ground staff to counter future industrial action puts Qantas's social licence in jeopardy - and fuels perceptions that the licence has already been lost.

Forced to "acknowledge and accept" the decision, Qantas has now run out of options in defending its high stakes pandemic strategy of outsourcing staff for "lawful commercial reasons", pinning its hopes on an original ruling from the Federal Court. 

Once loyal consumers are more outraged by the day as the airline's corporate spindoctors constantly recalibrate their crisis management tools with Qantas now splashed on the front pages of tabloids and leading commercial news bulletins for all the wrong reasons.

Just a fortnight ago, allegations from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commissions that Qantas sold fares for cancelled flights could mean a $250 million fine.

Days after the ACCC action was announced, Qantas revealed late on a Friday afternoon that Alan Joyce would be awarded 1.7 million shares worth around $10 million as part of his long term incentives.

Even after Mr Joyce brought his retirement forward by two months to November, the Qantas board has refused to rule out that a $24 million golden parachute awaits as a lucractive puncuation market to a turbulent career.

The Australian Shareholders Association told the ABC earlier this week there were questions on whether the $24 million payout is appropriate, reminding Qantas board to act in the best interests of the company.

The ASA also wants more information in "clawback" provisions in Mr Joyce's contract if his legal obligations were breached.

The Qantas loss is also an early test case - and a red alert - for other companies considering the outsourcing of staff or dilution of pay and conditions.

They now know "commercial reasons" won't be enough cover for stretching industrial law to the limit.

On the other hand, the High Court ruling emboldens Federal Government's campaign to tighten up loopholes on the use of contractors and mechanisms that could result in current of new employees being put on unfavourable terms.

The crisis - complicated by the High Court ruling - casts a great shadown over the Qantas board and whether directors properly questioned Mr Joyce's management to ensure risk and reputation were fully oversighted.

Qantas chairman Richard Goyder is now under fire for his leadership and failure to properly manage Alan Joyce who in the past he's described as Australia's best chief executive.

Now the ghost of Alan Joyce haunts not just Mr Goyder, but Vanessa Hudson who has the task of rebuilding the Qantas reputation aware that the near certainty that new chapters of the crisis await.

The Transport Workers Union has called for a spill of the Qantas board and the exit of Richard Goyder.

Mr Goyder has refused all ABC requests for an on the record interview, but he has told select print commentators that Qantas need to show more humility given it's shattered record.

Richard Goyder and Vanessa Hudson are going to need all the humility they can get - and there's more humble pie to come that will either make or break Qantas