The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME) has released a document which provides the state’s mining and resources companies with prevention strategies and response actions for handling harmful behaviour in workplaces.
The Supporting Safe and Respectful Workplaces – Industry Actions document has been developed through the Safe and Respectful Behaviours (SARB) Working Group in response to the Enough is Enough Report released in 2022.
The document outlines target areas and examples of good practice that support the below objectives:
- Supporting the safety and health of the Western Australian mining and resources sector workforce by ensuring safe and respectful workplaces
- Assisting the mining and resources sector’s operations in implementing risk-based controls by sharing good practice strategies to drive industry-wide improvements and eliminate any form of sexual harassment in the sector
- Supporting workplaces in addressing the findings and recommendations of the Enough is Enough – Sexual harassment against women in the FIFO mining industry Report.
It features representatives from more than 40 companies across CME’s membership including operators, contractors, service providers, and associate organisations.
The document focuses on a number of areas, including leadership, training and education, diversity, security and accommodation, social activities and alcohol consumption outside of work, reporting, employee support and investigation of incidents.
CME Chief Executive, Rebecca Tomkinson, said the Industry Actions document aims to reflect the ongoing best practice and initiatives enforced by CME members at their respective workplaces.
“The health and safety of our industry’s workforce, including their physical and psychological safety, is the number one priority for the Western Australian mining and resources sector,” Ms Tomkinson said.
“The varying size and nature of operations in Western Australia’s mining and resources sector, spanning exploration, construction, production, and mine closure, means that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to workplace behaviours.
“With this in mind, the Industry Actions document drives the adoption of best practice management of workplace behaviour-related hazards and risks through the provision of a series of practical examples of work, health, and safety controls, including considerations across prevention, risk mitigation, response, and recovery.”
Ms Tomkinson said the purpose of the Industry Actions document was to support the state’s mining and resources sector’s commitment to eliminating inappropriate behaviours from its workplaces.
“We know that ongoing vigilance and sharing the learnings will be key to demonstrating that our workplaces are safe, respectful and inclusive environments for all employees,” Ms Tomkinson said.
“As employers of more than 117,000 personnel, our industry takes this obligation very seriously and CME, along with our members, reaffirm our commitment to eliminating sexual harassment and assault.
“In turn, we know that employers have a clear responsibility to ensure their employees are safe, both physically and psychologically, in the workplace.
“In a journey of continuous improvement, our work in this area of eliminating inappropriate behaviours from the workplace will never be done; but our sector is taking active steps to institute best practice across our member operations to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all workers.”
Ms Tomkinson said the Industry Actions document would be a ‘live’ document and would continue to be updated and refined by CME and its members to reflect the best practice of the day, in line with recommendations provided by the State Government’s Enough is Enough inquiry report.
Ms Tomkinson said the document could be used by other industries and CME would welcome the opportunity to engage in ongoing discussions.
The Industry Actions document is available here.
