1st Feb 2022 14:40
(Alliance News) - Rio Tinto PLC on Tuesday strived to "address" issues of bullying, sexism and racism in its workforce after publishing a damning independent review of its workplace culture.
It represents another scandal for the miner, which back in 2020 caused an outcry after it blew up a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal heritage site to expand the Pilbara iron ore mine in Western Australia.
"The revelations about the workplace culture at Rio Tinto are genuinely jaw dropping – they tick about all the negative boxes you can find. Sexual assaults and harassment, racism and bullying," AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould commented.
An independent report found that over the past five years, "bullying and sexism are systemic across Rio Tinto worksites, with almost half of the people experiencing bullying".
At 53%, women were more likely to experience bullying, compared with 47% of men. The damning findings did not end there.
Sexual harassment was identified, with 28% of woman and 6.7% of men were reported to have experienced sexual harassment at work. In addition, 21 women reported actual or attempted rape or sexual assault.
The report also found that 12% of Rio Tinto employees experienced racism at work ove the past five years.
Rio Tinto said it is "deeply disturbed" by the findings.
AJ Bell's Mould added: "In that context an increase in the share price in response looks a little odd, but perhaps it reflects market appreciation for Rio at least fronting up and taking the bull by the horns when it comes to fixing these deep-rooted problems. Today marks just the first step for Rio Tinto and, however committed CEO Jakob Stausholm and his team are to addressing the toxic culture, it will take time and could be a painful, if necessary, process for the business."
Rio Tinto shares were 2.3% higher at 5,302.79 pence each in London on Tuesday afternoon.
In May 2020, Rio Tinto had blasted rock shelters in the Juukan Gorge in Western Australia's remote Pilbara region, destroying one of the earliest known sites occupied by Australia's indigenous people, in order to expand its iron ore mine.
Jean-Sebastian Jacques, the CEO at the time, has since been replaced by Stausholm.
"Given Stausholm is relatively new to the job, he is likely to be given time by shareholders to try and sort things out. However, he has very little margin for error," Mould added.
"This will shine an uncomfortable light on the sector and ramp up the pressure to encompass environmental, social & governance factors in the way mining firms are run. This includes not just the E but also the S and G too. Rio Tinto's card was already marked on this score thanks to the destruction of ancient Aboriginal caves in Australia in 2020 which led to the departure of its previous management team."
Rio Tinto said it accepts the report's recommendation and "it is clear we have work to do to address these issues".
By Eric Cunha; [email protected]
Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Rio Tinto