If the article is accurate, it seems like a slam dunk case to me. He didn't say anything especially bad by any reasonable metric, and he was attempting to exercise his rights to make a complaint about the workplace conditions.

But among the remedies sought are re-employment. Unless the management responsible for the decision were themselves fired, I can't imagine wanting that in the circumstances. That said, while it's not within the court's power, the arse being fired for his abuse of power would not at all be an unwarranted result here.