WARNING: THIS WEBSITE MENTIONS SEXUAL HARASSMENT. IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BY ANY OF THIS CONTENT AND ARE LOOKING FOR SUPPORT, CLICK HERE

WARNING: THIS WEBSITE MENTIONS SEXUAL HARASSMENT. IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BY ANY OF THIS CONTENT AND ARE LOOKING FOR SUPPORT, CLICK HERE

Creating positive change through communication

Elizabeth Gaines, CEO, Fortescue Metals Group and CEW member

December 2021

Fortescue Metal Group’s fly in, fly out (FIFO) workforce lives and works on remote mine sites for up to two weeks at a time, extending the company’s responsibility to provide a safe and inclusive environment across accommodation and village facilities.

The recent allegations regarding sexual harassment at mining operations in WA and the subsequent WA Parliamentary inquiry, as well as the Commonwealth Government’s inquiry into the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work Amendment Bill, are setting the agenda for change.

An ear to the (remote) ground

Our culture is built on integrity and respect, and we encourage our team members to speak out against any behaviour that is not in line with this culture and our values. Fortescue has a zero-tolerance approach to harassment, bullying and intimidation, and harassment of any kind is considered serious misconduct and may be grounds for dismissal.

Our leadership team recognises that meaningful change for our team members in the Pilbara does not come from decisions that we, in Perth, make without consultation.  

We launched a Workplace Integrity Review to encourage team members to provide feedback on what we could do as a business to further enhance the safety and security measures already in place.

The review included an online survey and focus group discussions across our operational sites, in addition to independently reviewing and assessing our current site security and safety measures.

 

"With team members based in remote areas, communication is one of our most important focus areas particularly on matters regarding health, safety and wellbeing."​

Elizabeth Gaines, CEO, Fortescue Metals Group

We also made time to listen to our contracting partners, which have large numbers of people working across our sites at any given time, at a forum to discuss issues directly linked to sexual harassment.

The feedback, suggestions and ideas put forward throughout this review have created an action plan for both the short and longer term.

Expanding our communication channels

With team members based in remote areas, communication is one of our most important focus areas particularly on matters regarding health, safety and wellbeing.

Drawing on experience throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we use a range of communication channels that extend beyond traditional emails and newsletters.

As part of a broader campaign to raise awareness and educate team members on important issues, a video series was launched to ensure each and every person working across a Fortescue site knows what behaviours are expected of them and how to raise concerns.

Text messages have proven effective to get these video messages straight to those who need them, no matter where they are located at any given time.

Most importantly, the video series features Fortescue team members – lending authenticity and relatability to the messages.

Foster diversity and inclusiveness

As an industry, we must and can do more to ensure we have a diverse workforce that is reflective of our community, and that we foster a workplace culture that truly embraces diversity and inclusiveness. 

The industry has a long way to go in this regard. Fortescue has long advocated the benefits of diversity, and research continues to reinforce our view and experience that building a diverse workplace is not just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.

We remain focused on building a pipeline of aspiring female leaders and have a range of practical initiatives that help us recruit, retain and support the career development of women, including paid parental leave, flexible working arrangements and leadership development programs.

Keep an eye on the future state

As we look forward, it remains most important to us to keep the dialogue on workplace safety and wellbeing open, introducing practical initiatives that make people safer and maintaining an environment that empowers our team members to speak up for themselves and their workmates.  

CEW has developed a range of resources to help leaders bring about real change in their organisations, and to track and eliminate sexual harassment.

FIND THEM HERE

With team members based in remote areas, communication is one of our most important focus areas particularly on matters regarding health, safety and wellbeing. ​

Elizabeth Gaines, CEO, Fortescue Metals Group

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We need to set the tone and lead from the top. With this in mind, here are examples of some things we should never say or accept from others:

  • A bullying and harassment policy should be enough to deal with sexual harassment and related inappropriate conduct.
  • We have low report rates of sexual harassment and related inappropriate conduct, so it’s not a problem at this organisation.
  • We have a reporting hotline which is well publicised, but we don’t get many calls about sexual harassment or related inappropriate conduct, so it’s not an issue here.
  • I have been in this industry for decades and I have never seen it, so it mustn’t be happening.
  • That’s the remit of our HR team. If there were ever a big issue, they would escalate it to us.
  • Our staff engagement scores are terrific and there is no indication of there being a sexual harassment problem here. That means we’re doing enough.
 
Most cultural issues aren’t hiding in plain sight. Often, it’s the things that aren’t being talked about that we need to be concerned about. Research tells us that sexual harassment is common and that it’s significantly under reported. In fact, increased reporting can indicate greater psychological safety and a culture of trust that the organisation takes sexual harassment seriously. We have a positive duty to prevent sexual harassment and related inappropriate conduct, and to continuously assess and evaluate whether we are meeting the requirements of the duty. 
 

We need to ensure our people feel safe to come forward and report instances of sexual harassment or related inappropriate conduct in the workplace. The only way they’ll do this is if they can see that leadership takes this issue seriously.

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We take the health and wellbeing of our people very seriously. We work hard to improve our safety outcomes and reduce injuries, and overall we do a good job of preventing physical harm to our people.

As we have seen in many other organisations, sexual harassment is more prevalent than a lot of people think. This represents a real risk to keeping people safe in the workplace, and to our people’s wellbeing and productivity.

It can also cause significant damage to our reputation, our brand as an employer of choice, lost business, and to our corporate standing. If we fail to take steps to address this conduct, we may be subject to enforcement action and/or civil penalties. Our organisation may also be held liable for inappropriate conduct committed by our employees unless we took all reasonable steps to prevent the conduct occurring. 

We need to make it crystal clear to everyone in the organisation that we have zero tolerance for any form of sexual harassment. We will always take appropriate action when sexual harassment or related inappropriate conduct occurs. We seek to prevent these unlawful behaviours and to have a zero-harm workplace. We welcome the new Australian positive duty placed on organisations by the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 and commit to implementing its provisions in a timely fashion and demonstrating our leadership. 

We need to treat sexual harassment and related inappropriate conduct risks as we would any other physical or psychological risk in the workplace. We already have existing systems and processes in place for identifying and mitigating workplace health and safety risks and hazards, and for defining our desired safe and respectful culture. 

We need to embed these sexual harassment response frameworks into our existing risk reporting practices and organisational culture, so all forms of sexual harassment and related misconduct are eradicated.

We can’t afford to wait on this; we need to act urgently. 

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Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favours or other conduct of a sexual nature. It’s not only a human rights issue, which is unlawful under the Sex Discrimination Act, but also a workplace health and safety (WHS) risk which can cause significant psychological, physical, reputational and financial harm.

Existing systems and processes for managing WHS risks and hazards should be used to eliminate the risks and control the likelihood of sexual harassment occurring in the workplace.

Board members and senior executives have a duty to address this. Everyone deserves to work in a safe, respectful and inclusive environment. Respect is everyone’s business.

Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favours or other conduct of a sexual nature. It’s not only a human rights issue, which is unlawful under the Sex Discrimination Act, but also a workplace health and safety (WHS) risk which can cause significant psychological, physical, reputational and financial harm.

Existing systems and processes for managing WHS risks and hazards should be used to eliminate the risks and control the likelihood of sexual harassment occurring in the workplace.

Board members and senior executives have a duty to address this. Everyone deserves to work in a safe, respectful and inclusive environment. Respect is everyone’s business.