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Bullying, harassment and racism is rife at Rio Tinto, report alleges

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Rio Tinto workers
An independent report has uncovered a shameful workplace culture within Rio Tinto’s global operations. Photo: courtesy Cape York Weekly

A damning report into the workplace culture of Rio Tinto has revealed that almost half of the miner’s global workforce have been bullied, harassed, or racially discriminated against.

Alarmingly, more than 30 per cent of Indigenous employees that responded to the independent review reported being confronted with racist behaviour in the workplace, and almost 30 per cent of women reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment.

The report was conducted by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, who surveyed more than 10,000 of Rio Tinto’s 45,000 employees and found systemic bullying, sexism and racism were common.

The report found that these harmful behaviours were often tolerated or normalised.

Rio Tinto Weipa boss Michelle Elvy, the general manager of the company’s bauxite operations, says that employees should expect change as a result of the report.

“The findings of this report are extremely confronting and upsetting. I apologise to anyone who has experienced these behaviours in our workplace,” she said.

Michelle Elvy
Bauxite manager, Michelle Elvy.

“While the report is deeply disturbing, finding out the extent of these problems and encouraging our people to continue speaking out is the first step in transforming the culture at Rio Tinto. It will be difficult and take time, but we are determined to implement all of the recommendations of the report.

“Work on making the Weipa operations a more inclusive and diverse workplace has been underway for some time.

“Last year, across our bauxite operations, we held a number of Respectful Behaviour workshops, which were impactful for many.

“We also have a number of formal support systems, including our Employee Assistance Program, which provides professional advice support for our people and their families, our MyVoice confidential reporting hotline and our peer support program.

“In addition, this month we will commence the MATE Bystander program across bauxite to continue to improve our culture.”

The report said it did not investigate or make findings about any individual incident or allegation, or individual employees, but any employee who disclosed an experience of harmful behaviour and was seeking an investigation was “provided with appropriate referrals”.

The report noted that while some women who spoke to the investigators reported a positive and inclusive culture, the majority said everyday sexism took a toll on their self-esteem, personal relationships and general health.

They reported colleagues and managers commenting on their appearance, expressing gendered assumptions about their competence, and that they were only there as a result of positive discrimination.

Some feared telling management if they were pregnant, obstacles to flexible workplace arrangements and of being denied access to female bathroom facilities.

They also reported being left out of decisions and overlooked for progression, of being asked to take notes, get coffee, or even do a colleague’s washing.

Women were significantly more likely to experience sexual harassment, with 28 per cent reporting it compared to 7 per cent of males.

Women on FIFO and residential worksites experienced higher rates of sexual harassment.

Bauxite
The culture at Rio Tinto’s Weipa operations will be examined after the report.

Twenty one women reported actual or attempted rape or sexual assault in the last five years.

Some women ate alone in their room to avoid harassment, avoided being out after dark and said there was poor lighting and security.

The report found Rio Tinto’s workforce was approximately 79 per cent male despite recent attempts to increase diversity.

“Unique workplace features, such as the hierarchical, male-dominated culture, create risk factors,” investigators were told.

Employees also reported harmful behaviour was often tolerated or normalised, including from “serial perpetrators”.

Employees believed there was little accountability, particularly for senior leaders and so-called high performers, who are perceived to avoid significant consequences for harmful behaviour.

Almost half of the roughly 10,300 people who responded reported bullying.

The report said sexual harassment and everyday sexism occurred at unacceptable rates and racism was common.

Compounding this, employees “do not believe that the organisation is psychologically safe which impacts on their trust in the reporting systems”, and that “harmful behaviour occurs by and between employees, managers, and leaders, including senior leaders”.

Employees spoke of “normalised” racism within the organisation, with survey data showing 11.7 per cent of employees experienced racism in the last five years.

Employees working in a country different to that of their birth experienced higher rates of racism than their colleagues working in the country they were born in.

Jakob Stausholm
Rio Tinto chief Jakob Stausholm.

Among Australian employees, 39.8 per cent of men who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experienced racism in the last five years, compared with 12.4 per cent who did not identify with that culture.

After releasing the report last week, Rio Tinto vowed to clean up its act.

Chief executive Jakob Stausholm said the findings were “deeply disturbing”.

“I offer my heartfelt apology to every team member, past or present, who has suffered as a result of these behaviours,” he said.

“This is not the kind of company we want to be.

“I feel shame and enormous regret to have learned the extent to which bullying, sexual harassment and racism are happening.

“I really feel Rio Tinto is a wonderful company with some amazing people. But we do need to work towards having what I would call a more humane organisation and a more humane culture.

“It’s probably some of the hierarchical elements standing in the way of addressing the issues that are coming out here.

“But there is no magic bullet. Unfortunately, it’s not something that you can say from tomorrow onwards, the issue is gone.

“Cultural change takes time. But we are prepared to take the time it takes – and in a systemic way – to address the issues.”

Rio Tinto has committed to enacting all 26 recommendations made by the report aimed at preventing discrimination and an unacceptable workplace culture.

The recommendations focus on the following areas:

  • A commitment from the company’s leadership to create safe, respectful and inclusive working environments to prevent harmful behaviours and better support people in vulnerable situations. This includes increasing diversity within the company.
  • Ensuring the company’s camp and village facilities are safe and inclusive. This includes making sure the company is applying the same safety and risk processes that it uses to prevent harm in operations to create a safe environment for all employees and contractors.
  • Making it as easy as possible for all people to call out unacceptable behaviours, highlight issues when they happen and receive support. This includes introducing early intervention options and improving how the company responds to formal complaints in the workplace.
Cape York Weekly 8 February 2022

This article appeared in Cape York Weekly, 8 February 2022.

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