The Federal Court has ordered the TWU to pay $35,000 for its part in a baggage handlers' strike and work ban at Adelaide and Melbourne airports in late 2007.

The TWU in a statement of facts agreed with the FWO – in its first prosecution of a union for taking unlawful industrial action – acknowledged it was involved in organising a strike at Adelaide Airport and work ban at Melbourne Airport, each lasting between six and eight hours (see Related Article).

It also acknowledged that the Adelaide Airport strike "resulted from encouragement" by the union's South Australia/Northern Territory secretary Alex Gallacher, who is the ALP's number one Senate candidate in South Australia.
Ramp workers at the Adelaide Airport decided to take industrial action after Qantas managers informed them as part of a tender review process that the jobs of TWU members in the "belt room" were to be outsourced, resulting either in job losses or significant wage cuts.
The Melbourne Airport workers refused to handle baggage from flights coming or going to Adelaide in support of their South Australian colleagues.
On penalty, Justice Anthony Besanko said while the contraventions were serious and deliberate, the union had shown contrition, agreed to participate in corrective action such as FWO-facilitated training, and co-operated with authorities from an early stage.
The TWU and FWO jointly submitted that the union should pay $17,500 for each incident of unlawful industrial action. Justice Besanko agreed that a 50% penalty on the maximum was appropriate and imposed the $35,000 penalty.