BHP and Rio Tinto have issued statements saying they are working to ensure female miners are safe on site after a class action was lodged in Federal Court yesterday.
“Sexual harassment has no place in our workplaces or indeed anywhere,” BHP said in a statement, according to Reuters.
“We are committed to providing a safe and respectful workplace for everyone.”
The major has multiple avenues for reporting incidents and receiving support, including
to Integrity@BHP, its dedicated Support Service, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and other related care and medical/psychological treatment pathways.
In the 2023–24 financial year (FY24), BHP investigated 100 cases of sexual harassment across sits sites, terminating 103 individuals responsible.
Rio Tinto released a statement yesterday saying it was aware a claim had been filed in Federal Court, and is treating all claims with the “utmost seriousness”.
“We do not tolerate any form of sexual harassment or sex-based harassment,” Rio said.
“We take all concerns about workplace safety, culture and breaches of our values, or our Code of Conduct extremely seriously.
“This extends to our entire network, including business partners, contractors, and suppliers. We are absolutely committed to creating safe, respectful, and inclusive workplaces.
“We encourage employees, contractors, and the public to report any harmful or disrespectful behaviour through MyVoice, our independent and confidential reporting system.”
In 2021, Rio Tinto commissioned an external review of workplace culture led by former Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.
The resulting Everyday Respect report, published openly in February 2022, provided critical insights and recommendations for improvement.
“Our work in this area continues,” Rio said.
“While the recent progress review of the Everyday Respect Report recommendations, published in full in November 2024, found our actions in response to the report are helping make Rio Tinto a better place to work, it also found there is still work to do in fostering an environment where all employees feel safe, valued, and respected.”
Around half of the 11,600 survey respondents to the Everyday Respect progress report said there was an improvement in relation to bullying (50 per cent), sexual harassment (47 per cent) and racism (46 per cent).
A majority of respondents expressed confidence the company will make a meaningful difference in these areas in coming years and felt Everyday Respect is now widely considered a normal conversation within the company, which is a critical step for culture change.
Subscribe to Safe to Work for the safety news that matters most to the Australian mining industry.