Fortescue to spend $1.4M in educating contractors to stamp out inappropriate behaviour

About Fortescue

Fortescue Ltd (Fortescue, the Group, ASX: FMG) was established in 2003 and today is a major supplier of sea-borne iron ore to China, although has expanded into other export markets including Japan and South Korea. The Group is the world’s fourth largest iron ore producer, as well as exploring for copper, gold and lithium deposits, and rare earth elements. Fortescue owns and operates rail and port facilities and focuses on producing green energy and green hydrogen.

West Australian mining industry to stamp out inappropriate behaviour

A government sponsored report titled ‘Enough is Enough’ released last year has found that WA’s mining industry had failed to protect ‘fly-in-fly-out’ female workers from predatory behaviour. The parliamentary enquiry into sexual harassment against female employees received nearly 100 submissions that detailed examples of sexual harassment in the workplace. The report stated that sexual harassment at mining sites was ‘generally accepted or overlooked’ and referred to the ‘failure’ of mining companies to recognise the issue.

Fallout from the inquiry has seen Fortescue agree to hand over documents that detail about 30 allegations of sexual harassment at three of its mining sites. The documents will have employee names redacted from the documents to protect employee rights to privacy. Fortescue has co-operated with the regulator, (WorkSafe WA) for the past six months but considers there is no legal basis for the regulator to demand names of alleged perpetrators. Fortescue has agreed to handover documents that detail the allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace but stated that it would not be pushed into breaking the law or releasing the private information of teammates without their knowledge and consent. This follows WorkSafe WA in February this year charging Fortescue with 34 counts of refusing to provide documents within a specified period without a reasonable excuse.

The charges have since been dropped and Fortescue has agreed to implement a program of education and performance management of contractors and executives, as well as enhancing positive culture among executives. Initially $1.4 million will be spent on the program to educate workers how to protect themselves from predatory behaviour, including targeted violence, stalking, grooming and threats to their livelihoods.

WA government response to employee harassment

The WA government’s response to the ‘Enough is Enough’ report includes setting minimum standards for workplace accommodation, including a review of mining camp designs, and funding for a community legal and advocacy centre. Other recommendations include contractor and sub-contractor education sessions and psychological risk assessments. The government also plans to create a ‘fully resourced, culturally appropriate expert group’ to deal with sexual harassment matters.

What’s next?

Fortescue’s decision to invest $1.4 million to eradicate inappropriate workplace behaviour is well above the fine that could be expected if it was convicted of the underlying charges. This is the action of a socially responsible and ethical corporation that recognises corporate culture is what drives change in business and is often a far more potent influence on employee behaviour than regulation or enforcement.

Fortescue publicly states that it creates a culture of family and safety and recognises that the way it treats employees and contractors is what defines them. The Group’s $1.4 million investment to protect its female workforce from inappropriate behaviour evidences this ethos. As the saying goes, if you want to discover the strength of a company’s ethics, don’t just listen to what its people say, watch what they do!