Qantas charged over Covid cleaning risks

Australian airline Qantas is being prosecuted over the duties of plane cleaners in early 2020.

BBC News reports a cleaner was told to stop working after he opposed cleaning practices on aircraft arriving from China.

Watchdog SafeWork NSW accused Qantas of discriminatory conduct for stopping the pay of a worker who raised concerns about exposure of employees to COVID-19.

However, Qantas said the cleaner was being investigated for "attempting to incite unprotected industrial action".

A union called the prosecution a "landmark for work health and safety".

Cleaner Theo Seremetidis was an elected health and safety representative at Qantas when the Covid pandemic broke out.

[Source: BBC]