A long‑serving train driver sacked for giving the Nazi salute while on duty has lost his legal battle to overturn the dismissal.
The Fair Work Commission upheld rail operator Pacific National’s decision to dismiss Eric Jordan, finding ‘clear and compelling’ CCTV footage showed he performed the gesture twice.
Mr Jordan denied giving the salute, telling the Commission he had either made ‘a gesture of camaraderie between train crew’ or an ‘all clear’ hand signal used in the rail industry to indicate the tracks ahead are unobstructed.
He argued that raising his arm with a flat palm was consistent with the all‑clear signal and was not evidence of a Nazi salute.
Drivers from SCT Logistics who witnessed the gesture lodged complaints and were offered counselling, while Sydney Trains referred the matter to NSW Police.
Pacific National dismissed Mr Jordan for serious misconduct after alleging he made the gesture twice at Mittagong Railway Station in NSW’s Southern Highlands on March 6, 2025, as an Aurizon service passed through the station.
The company said the antisemitic gesture, directed at drivers from other rail operators and potentially visible to the public, brought the company into disrepute and damaged its brand and reputation.
In his defence, Mr Jordan said the accusation upset him ‘greatly’ and he found it ‘incredibly offensive’.
CCTV footage from the Mittagong train station of Eric Jordan (pictured) allegedly giving the Nazi salute provided to the FWC
‘Raising one’s arm alone is not evidence of a Roman salute, and should not be interpreted as such,’ he said.
‘I find this accusation to be very insulting, as I consider myself to be a person who is accepting of all cultures.
‘My mentor and the man who introduced me to my career in the rail industry follows the Jewish faith and that I hold the utmost respect to him.’
Mr Jordan said Campbelltown Police investigated the incident and, after reviewing the footage, advised it was not a Nazi salute and they would take no further action.
However, Pacific National said the police officer’s evidence was that, if it were his call, he would probably have charged the driver, and that the matter only failed to proceed because no witness was willing to give a statement, undermining Mr Jordan’s reliance on the absence of prosecution.
For three weeks the constable attempted to obtain witness statements but was unsuccessful.
Pacific National described the Nazi salute as likely ‘the most offensive physical gesture’ in the contemporary Australian workplace and said it constituted a valid reason for dismissal.
A Sydney Trains compliance officer said he would never instruct a student to perform the all‑clear signal in the manner Mr Jordan did, and that the gesture looked similar to a Nazi salute.
Mr Jordan denied performing the salute, telling the Commission he had either made ‘a gesture of camaraderie between train crew’ or an ‘all clear’ hand signal used in the rail industry to indicate the tracks ahead are unobstructed
Deputy president Bryce Cross said Mr Jordan’s claim that the same gesture was performed ‘thousands of times a day’ by all rail workers was ‘fanciful’.
‘I do not consider (Mr Jordan) to be a person who harbours Nazi sympathies or advocates such ideology,’ he said.
‘He simply made two extremely inappropriate gestures seemingly, particularly noting that he smiled before the first gesture, as jokes.
‘If any rail worker had performed the same gesture as in the incidents, being extending their right or left arm at 45 degree angle from his or her body fully extended, I would expect they would be subject to disciplinary proceedings.’
The Nazi salute is explicitly banned nationwide, including in NSW, with mandatory jail time.
