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Lawyers mull class action over Rio Tinto sexual harassment claims
Leading class-action firm Shine Lawyers could pursue mining giant Rio Tinto over a report highlighting “alarming rates” of sexual harassment at its Australian mine sites.
In February 2022, Elizabeth Broderick & Co released the Workplace Culture at Rio Tinto report, which identified disturbing findings of bullying, sexual harassment, racism and other forms of discrimination, including instances of actual or attempted rape or sexual assault from 21 women.
Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri iron ore mine in the PilbaraCredit: Bloomberg
It also found almost half of its employees and contractors had experienced bullying and sexism in the workplace with 28.2 per cent of women and 6.7 per sent of men experiencing sexual harassment at work.
Now, Shine Lawyers is investigating whether Rio Tinto and/or its related subsidiaries failed to take adequate steps to eliminate discrimination and sexual harassment for employees, and if so, if they should be held liable.
Class Actions’ practice leader Sarah Thomson said no employer should get away with the kind of misconduct found in the report without consequence.
“The report found that a large proportion of female employees described enduring everyday sexism which impacted self-esteem, personal relationships and their employment,” Ms Thomson said.
“We do not live in a world that tolerates sexual abuse and harassment in any workplace.
“Women have spoken out about instances of sexual abuse and assault and ultimately being driven out of the industry for speaking out.”
Broderick, who was the Sex Discrimination Commissioner from 2007-2015, was engaged to conduct the comprehensive independent review of the mining giant’s workplace culture to improve its global operations.
A spokesperson for Rio Tinto said the company was aware of Shine’s investigation.
“We take all concerns about workplace safety and culture, including sexual discrimination and harassment, very seriously,” they said.
“In 2022 we released an external review of our workplace culture as part of our commitment to drive meaningful change to create a safe, respectful and inclusive workforce.
“The Everyday Respect report included recommendations to ensure the cultural change we’re making at Rio Tinto is implemented, embedded and its effectiveness monitored.”
An independent review on the progress of the above recommendations, also conducted by Elizabeth Broderick & Co, is expected to be published by the end of the year.
Under the Sex Discrimination Act, an employer can be held vicariously liable for harassment by employees if the employer did not take all reasonable steps to prevent the employee from committing the harassment.
Rio Tinto is one of the largest and most successful mining companies in the world, with a significant global profile that reaches well beyond the resources sector.
It employs about 45,000 people at 60 sites in 35 countries.
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