A Rio Tinto report into workplace culture finding unacceptable and systemic bullying, sexism and racism is shocking but would not surprise workers, the Western Mineworkers Alliance said today.
The report by Elizabeth Broderick found that of all Rio Tinto’s divisions globally, bullying and sexual harassment were highest in its iron ore division, in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. More than half of Rio Tinto’s iron ore employees reported experiencing bullying and one third of women in iron ore experienced sexual harassment.
Mining and Energy Union President Tony Maher said that Rio Tinto’s toxic workplace culture had been exacerbated by the mining multinational’s push to deunionise in the 1990s and move workers onto individual contracts.
“Rio Tinto became anti-union zealots with their so-called ‘direct engagement’ approach. But crushing union presence on their sites removed a collective voice and important layer of protection for workers.
“It meant workers were dependent on the approval of their immediate supervisor to get a pay rise or even to keep their job, leading to sycophancy, nepotism and fear of raising issues like bullying and harassment. Direct engagement has left a damaging legacy for Rio Tinto’s workplace culture.”
Australian Workers Union National Secretary Dan Walton said the findings in Broderick report echoed those in a union survey of WA iron ore miners’ experiences of sexual harassment and assault undertaken last year. The WMWA raised concerns from the survey during last year’s WA parliamentary inquiry into sexual harassment in the FIFO mining industry.
The WMWA told that inquiry that its extensive industry survey had found:
· One in five women said they had experienced physical acts of sexual assaults.
· One in five women said they had been explicitly or implicitly offered career advancement or benefits in return for sexual favours.
· One in three women said they had received requests for sexual favours, and repeated invitations to engage in sexual relationships.
“Our members spoke loud and clear about unacceptable behaviour on site and their lack of trust in managers and supervisors to take action. Women told us about being threatened with ‘blacklisting’ if they pursued complaints of sexual harassment.
“Rio Tinto has an opportunity now to take real action to address its workplace culture. Feel-good management training is not enough. Managers and supervisors must be held to account and workers must be supported to organise collectively through their unions to build confidence and give them a voice to deal with issues like bullying and harassment. It’s a positive step that Rio Tinto has released this report and we are ready to work collaboratively to improve the working lives of our members and all mineworkers.”
The Western Mineworkers Alliance is a joint venture by the Australian Workers Union and Mining and Energy Union to represent Pilbara iron ore workers.
