Arbitration between Franco-Nevada, Panama moves to next stage
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BHP (ASX, NYSE: BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX, NYSE: RIO) are facing allegations of fostering environments at their Australian mining sites where female staff endured systemic sexual harassment and gender discrimination.
Two class actions, filed in the Federal Court of Australia on Wednesday, claim the mining giants knowingly exposed women to high-risk situations and retaliated with demotions, dismissals, or further discrimination when complaints were made, according to the law firm JGA Saddler.
The class actions were previously reported by ABC. They are backed by global litigation funder Omni Bridgeway.
“BHP and Rio Tinto sent female staff to these sites knowing there was a high risk of personal danger, and then punished them with demotion, dismissal, or discrimination when they reported it,” JGA Saddler lawyer Joshua Aylward said in a statement.
“These class actions will give a voice to these women, many of whom have been too afraid to speak out for fear of losing their jobs or workplace reprisals,” he added.
The lead plaintiff in the Rio Tinto case, who has chosen to remain anonymous due to fear of reprisals, described enduring sexual harassment weekly while employed as a security guard on Australian sites.
She alleged receiving unsolicited sexually explicit messages, videos, and photos from a colleague, including material of him masturbating in his on-site room. While the colleague was allowed to resign, her career progression was hindered following her complaint.
“There have been times I haven’t reported an incident for fear of what might happen to my career, my job, and my personal safety,” she said in a statement.
JGA Saddler said that it expects “thousands of female workers” at the two companies to join the class actions.
In response, BHP issued a statement expressing regret and apologizing unreservedly to anyone affected by harassment. The company highlighted a $500 million investment in improving the safety and security of accommodation villages.
Rio Tinto said it was aware that a claim had been filed in the federal court on Wednesday.
“We treat all such claims with the utmost seriousness. We do not tolerate any form of sexual harassment or sex-based harassment. We take all concerns about workplace safety, culture and breaches of our values, or our code of conduct extremely seriously,” it said in a statement.
A recent report by Rio Tinto revealed that 39% of surveyed workers experienced bullying within the past year, an increase from 31% in 2021. Separately, BHP recorded 417 reports of sexual harassment in the year ending June 2024.
The Centre for Transformative Work at Curtin University also found persistent issues in Western Australia’s mining sector. According to their study, 41% of female mining workers reported being condescended to or put down based on their gender, while 34% received offensive sexist remarks, often implying women are unfit for the work.
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