Western Australia’s inquiry report, Enough is enough: Sexual harrassment against women in the FIFO mining industry, has been released, presenting findings and recommendations for stronger actions against sexual assault and better support for female workers.
It is a 178 page, comprehensive report highlighting unlawful, criminal sexual and discriminatory behaviour perpretrated by men against women in the mining industry. It found reports of assaults were often ignored or overlooked through poor management and dismissive behaviour.
The report was released 23 June 2022 by Western Australia’s Parliamentary Inquiry.
The report considered four main inquires:
- Is there a clear understanding of the prevalence, nature, outcomes and reporting of sexual harassment in FIFO workplaces?
- Do existing workplace characteristics and practices – including but not limited to workplace cultures, rosters, drug and alcohol policies and recruitment practices – adequately protect against sexual harassment?
- Are current legislation, regulations, policies and practices adequate for FIFO workplaces in Western Australia?
- What actions are being taken by industry and government to improve the situation and are there any examples of good practice?
The report published 79 findings and 24 recommendations which urge stronger action to better support female workers, with recommendations including:
- Stronger management and protection to hearing and acting on reports including the potential for an external reporting centre or forum
- Greater safety on sites such as CCTV and lighting
- Companies to ensure serious repercussions for perpetrators, including dismissal and proper legal action
- Creating a system or register to ensure workers who perpetuate assault cannot move onto other sites and companies
- Sexual assualt and harrassment training provided by accredited, fit-for-purpose practictioners to be mandatory and ogoing for all employees
- A major focus on reversing the onus of proof in sexual harassment complaints under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984.
Western Australian Commissioner for Equal Opportunity, Dr Jon Bryne, said victims of sexual harassment are often placed in difficult positions if they complain about a manager or an employer and are therefore reluctant to make a complaint.
“At the moment the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 requires victims of sexual harassment to prove the perpetrator’s behaviour put them at a disadvantage in connection to their employment for their complaint to succeed,” Dr Bryne said.
Dr Bryne said the onus should be placed on employers to show they had taken all necessary steps to prevent the behaviour from happening and that sexual harassment in itself was enough to place workers at a disadvantage.
“Throughout the report we heard stories of women feeling unsafe in a top-heavy male environment where sexual harassment was considered part of the workplace culture.
“It is a human rights issue and a productivity issue and I cannot believe it has been allowed to go on for so long,” Dr Byrne said.
The adjustment of alcohol mining restrictions were also part of the safety concern on mining sites, as the report acknowledged “professional and health organisations universally told us that they were concerned by the risks to increased sexual harassment posed by excessive alcohol consumption”.
Previous reporting on the changes to alcohol consumption on site can be found here.
The report’s Chair, Libby Mettam also said she was “shocked and appalled well beyond expectation by the size and depth of the problem”.
The report asked for women to come forward on their lived experiences in the mining industry and Ms Mettam said to hear “the lived reality of the taunts, attacks and targeted violence, the devastation and despair the victims experienced, the threats to or loss of their livelihood that resulted was shattering and completely inexcusable”.
“This represents a failure of the industry to protect its workers and raises real questions about why the Government was not better across this safety issue,” Ms Mettan said.
“It is time to come together to make the cultural, system and legislative changes required to equip, prepare and educate the workforce. To move the culture of mining workplaces to one where understanding, preventing and appropriately dealing with incidents of workplace sexual harassment is the practiced norm. Where lifting the lid on sexual harassment is considered everyone’s business and taken seriously as a responsibility.”
Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Madeleine King, said the resources industry must step up and take action to ensure that men on worksites stop sexually harassing and assaulting the women they work with.
Ms King thanked the Western Australian Government and parliament for taking the lead to bring the appalling behaviour in the mining industry to light.
“Sexual harassment and sexual assault is abhorrent and should not be part of any modern workplace. It is entirely unacceptable and must stop,” Ms King said.
“The health and safety of workers in the resources industry is paramount and every worker has the right to be treated with respect in the workplace. Female workers need to know they are safe at work, and that they have the right to have rewarding careers in the mining industry without being subjected to sexual harassment and assault.
“Any case of sexual harassment is one too many. Sadly, the inquiry has found that sexual harassment and assaults are much too common for women who choose to work in the FIFO workforce.
“The Australian Government stands ready to help the resources sector stamp out sexual harassment, which has no place in the modern workplace.
“I will work with my Western Australian counterpart, Minister Bill Johnston, to support the findings of the inquiry and to make sure our mining and resources industries are safe and supportive workplaces for the women and men who work in our mines, gas and oil industries.”
Latest data from May shows Australia’s mining sector employs a record high 52,500 women among a record strong workforce of 302,600.
Women account for 18.9 per cent of the mining sector’s workforce – the highest level in history. The Productivity Commission in 2020 estimated that FIFO workers represented 63 per cent of the Western Australian mining workforce, significantly higher than in other states.
The inquiry was told women accounted for 74 per cent of mining workers who reported sexual harassment at work.
An independent review by Rio Tinto found 28.2 per cent of women had experienced sexual harassment at the workplace, while 21 women reported actual or attempted rape.
In March 2020, the Human Rights Commission published the Respect@Work report, which recommended 55 actions for governments, industries and employers to create safer workplaces.
“Sexual harassment is a scourge in any workplace,” Ms King said.
“The Albanese government is committed to implementing all recommendations of the Respect@Work report, and to working with the resources industry to stamp out sexual harassment.”
The full report can be found here.
Further reading on the safety in the mining sector:
An alleged sexual assualt was reported at a Roy Hill Mine in Western Australia on 18 June 2022. Mining magazine’s article can be viewed here.
Previous Mining magazine articles on the mining industry safety regulation changes can be found here:
Funding, grants, reviews of safety protocols for WA mining industry
New Work Health and Safety Regulations for WA mining industry
