A MAJOR COMPANY UNDER PRESSURE..! – Fortescue is facing growing demands for answers after a harassment lawsuit raised serious allegations, with Libby Mettam calling the claims “disappointing” as scrutiny intensifies.
Mining boss Andrew Forrest has issued a statement to Fortescue Metals Group staff after allegations of sexual harassment were levelled against the business this week.
Fortescue has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging decades of widespread harassment across its remote worksites and accommodation village.
In an email to staff on Friday, company boss Forrest, said “anyone who thinks this behaviour has a place at Fortescue is in the wrong company”.
“(The allegations) are serious. They are disturbing. They concern behaviour that has no place at Fortescue,” he said.
“Every person who comes to work at Fortescue deserves to feel safe. Every person deserves respect. That isn’t an aspiration – it’s the minimum standard.
“Let me be absolutely clear. Any form of harassment or discrimination is unacceptable.
“Physical harassment will not be tolerated. Sexual harassment will not be tolerated.
“Anyone who thinks this behaviour has a place at Fortescue is in the wrong company.
“Where conduct amounts to criminal behaviour, we will support our people and expect the law to take its course.
“Losing your job is the beginning of the consequences, not the end.”
He urged anyone who sees or experiences something that “doesn’t reflect our values” to report it.
Shocking allegations
The email comes after a politician who investigated sexual harassment and abuse in Australia’s mining camps demanded answers over the fresh allegations.
According to the suit filed in the Federal Court on Thursday, a woman was pulled into a dark alley by a man who forcibly tried to kiss her and another found a random man in her room when she came home one night.
Others claimed they were subjected to vile language, including ‘‘you sl**s report us and then we get the sack’‘ and ‘‘why don’t you f*** the crew, you will make yourself feel better’‘.
Western Australian Liberal MP Libby Mettam, who chaired a state parliamentary inquiry into the issue, said the allegations underpinning the class action were similar to those previously identified by the probe.
In 2022, the inquiry delivered 24 recommendations largely aimed at companies improving safety and cracking down on perpetrators, including blacklisting them from the industry to prevent them simply moving from one company to another.
“That inquiry uncovered a toxic culture of cover-up in the mining industry,” Mettam told AAP.
“Four years on I am extremely disappointed the same allegations are being repeated.
“A workplace culture that supports the harassment and discrimination of women must be stamped out.”
Mettam said she would follow up with the state Labor government to demand answers.
When asked why not all of the recommendations of the report had been implemented, including a blacklist of offenders, WA Premier Roger Cook said there was still more to do.
“I know the industry takes these issues very seriously, particularly after those incidents or the pattern of behaviour were highlighted, and we know there’s more to do,” he told reporters on Thursday.
The allegations formed part of a broader pattern of concerns raised across the mining sector in recent years, Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody said.
“All workers have the right to be safe, respected and free from sexual harassment at work, regardless of where they work, including in remote and male-dominated industries,” Dr Cody said.
“We will continue to engage with industries where risks of harm are elevated to strengthen compliance and drive cultural change.”
