The Australian mining sector's top body says the prevalence of sexual harassment in the industry is "alarming" and has backed tougher rules to prevent it in the workplace.
Chief executive of the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) Tania Constable on Tuesday appeared before a Senate inquiry examining a proposed strengthening of sexual harassment laws in Australia.
The government's Sex Discrimination Act (Respect at Work) Amendment Bill 2021 would enact legislative changes recommended in the landmark
The report, led by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, found 40 per cent of mining workers had experienced sexual harassment at work, which was higher than the average across all industries.
Women in the mining industry were twice as likely as their male colleagues to be sexually harassed at 74 per cent, compared to 32 per cent.
Ms Constable told the inquiry the statistics were “profoundly disappointing” and sexual harassment cannot be tolerated.
“It is unacceptable, against the law, and must be eliminated from our industry culture and workplaces,” she said.
“This is not going to be stopped overnight and it will take ongoing action across the whole industry.”
In the wake of the Respect@Work report's findings the MCA, which represents major players including Rio Tinto and BHP, set up a code of conduct to prevent sexual harassment.
“The industry code sets clear expectations on members to establish preventative and response measures to address sexual harassment,” Ms Constable said.
The MCA says strengthening sexual harassment laws in Australia would help provide "certainty and clarity" on compliance.
The body also supports Ms Jenkins' push for a “positive duty” to ensure measures are in place to prevent sexual discrimination and harassment, though that is not included in the government’s current legislation.
Ms Constable said the existing legislation was "clearly not working".
"If it was, we would not see high numbers of sexual harassment across industries, not least of all the minerals industry," she told the inquiry.
Other business groups, including the Australian Industry Group, have resisted calls for employers to be legally obliged to prevent harassment.
They say sexual harassment is banned under existing rules and employers could be exposed to multiple penalties for the same incident.
'We need to do more'
Several women have come forward to police in recent weeks detailing claims of sexual assaults at major WA mines.
Senior executives from BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group, Woodside and Newmont last month held a joint media conference to apologise to victims of harassment and back calls for a state parliamentary inquiry.
Ms Constable said she believes the rates of harassment in the mining industry can be linked to its male-dominated workforce and remote nature, a high proportion of fly-in and fly-out workers, and the role of alcohol.
"Our intention is to eliminate sexual harassment from the mining industry," she said.
The MCA recommends its members follow national health guidelines that workers should be limited to four standard drinks per day.
BHP and Rio Tinto have this year also introduced alcohol limits for workers at its camps amid concerns about a culture of heavy drinking.
Rio Tinto’s general manager of employee relations and human resources Ben Mansour told the inquiry on Tuesday the company was committed to eradicating sexual harassment.
“We have had instances of sexual harassment over the years - we understand we need to do more,” he said.
With AAP.
