Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) faces a potential class action lawsuit over its treatment of workers, with Shine Lawyers initiating a search for potential litigants to support the suit.
Shine's investigation into a potential lawsuit comes as Rio’s workforce evaluates the company's progress since the damning findings of an external review into its culture were released in 2022.
The 2022 review, titled Everyday Respect, was conducted by former Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick and revealed that workplace bullying was "normalised" in many of Rio’s global operations.
The report found that more than 53% of female workers reported bullying while working for Rio, with 28% experiencing sexual harassment. Confidential evidence gathered by Broderick and her team included 21 claims from Rio employees of sexual assault in the workplace.
In addition to the grim outlook for Rio’s female workforce, the review disclosed that 30% of Indigenous employees reported encountering racist behaviour in the workplace.
Shine’s announcement comes after Broderick and her team returned to Rio this year to conduct a follow-up report and is expected to deliver its findings by year-end.
Is Rio liable?
Sarah Thomson, class actions practice leader at Shine, stated the investigation aimed to determine if Rio could be held legally liable for the mistreatment of its workers and if the company had "failed to take adequate steps to eliminate discrimination and sexual harassment for employees as far as possible in its workplaces”.
"Under the Sex Discrimination Act, an employer can be held vicariously liable for harassment by employees if the employer did not take 'all reasonable steps to prevent the employee from committing the harassment'," Thomson said.
Shine's investigation is not limited to Australian operations, with its website seeking registration for the lawsuit from across Rio’s global operations.
A spokesman for Rio acknowledged Shine's investigation into a potential class action. "We take all concerns about workplace safety and culture including sexual discrimination and harassment very seriously," he said.
"The Everyday Respect report included recommendations to ensure the cultural change we’re making at Rio Tinto is implemented, embedded and its effectiveness monitored. This includes an independent review of our progress.
"Former Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick is currently leading this independent review, and it is our intention to publish the report by the end of the year."
More than 10,300 Rio employees responded to the written part of Broderick’s original review, about 22% of the global mining giant’s total workforce at the time. Ms Broderick and her staff also conducted 109 group meetings, which included a mechanism for staff to submit detailed confidential complaints.
When the report was released, Rio CEO Jakob Stausholm expressed "shame and regret" on reading its findings and promised to implement all 26 recommendations.