Global mining giants BHP Group and Rio Tinto are facing sexual harassment class actions in Australia.
The allegations cover a wide range of widespread and systemic sexual harassment incidents at Australian mine sites, according to law firm JGA Saddler.
On Wednesday, JGA Saddler said the women who spoke about the harassment were allegedly discriminated against by the miners and that it expects "thousands" of female workers to join the class actions.
The lawsuit reportedly claims that women were urinated on, defecated in front of, sexually groped, ridiculed and sacked if they spoke out, with many forced to sign NDAs.
Australia’s sex discrimination commissioner, Dr Anna Cody, told ABC News she was “deeply concerned” that NDAs were reportedly being used to handle the issue and that they shouldn’t be used as a blanket way of dealing with the complaint.
"There is a question to answer around if a company is using a lot of those confidentiality clauses or non-disclosure agreements, whether it's complying with its positive duty because one of those requirements is transparency and accountability,” she said.
"The board needs to know, the directors need to know, the leadership needs to know."
JGA Saddler lawyer, Joshua Aylward, who is running the class action said many of the women were allegedly being forced to sign the NDAs to keep “big companies’ secrets”.
"Women tell us they feel forced to accept these offers, which usually includes a pay-out tied to an NDA and sometimes they are also offered the chance to change a termination or sacking to a resignation,” he said.
Alyward said he had spoken to hundreds of women in the past 18 months who were unable to work because of "sustained sexual assaults and harassments whilst being at work".
One of the lead applicants who worked as a FIFO security officer for a range of Rio Tinto-managed workplaces in WA, alleged she had been harassed on a weekly basis, and that her speaking up about it came at a professional and personal cost.
Angela Green, who worked for BHP Queensland as an explosives expert told ABC News a BHP employee had been caught videoing female staff, accessing their phones and stealing underwear, hair samples and tampons.
She alleged that she was shut down when she spoke to supervisors about the issue and was later terminated and asked to sign an NDA.
A Rio Tinto spokesperson said they plan to treat the claim filed in court “with the utmost seriousness”.
"We do not tolerate any form of sexual harassment or sex-based harassment," they said.
"This extends to our entire network, including business partners, contractors, and suppliers.
“We are absolutely committed to creating safe, respectful, and inclusive workplaces.”
They also said in 2021, Rio Tinto commissioned an external review of workplace culture led by former Australian sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.
“The resulting Everyday Respect report, published openly in February 2022, provided critical insights and recommendations for improvement,” the spokesperson said.
They also said work at Rio Tinto continues in this area.
"While the recent progress review of the Everyday Respect Report recommendations, published in full in November 2024, found our actions in response to the report are helping make Rio Tinto a better place to work, it also found there is still work to do in fostering an environment where all employees feel safe, valued, and respected," they said.
A spokesperson at BHP said sexual harassment “has no place in our workplaces or indeed anywhere” and that the company was committed to creating a safe a respectful workplace for all.
"We deeply regret and apologise unreservedly to anyone who has ever experienced any form of harassment at BHP," they said.
These allegations come as Rio Tinto renews support for the prevention of gender-based violence across Canada.
“On National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women and as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, Rio Tinto is reinforcing its commitment to addressing domestic and family violence by extending support to local organisations across Canada. For the fifth consecutive year, Rio Tinto is partnering with organisations that provide shelters, counselling, education, training, and activities to help women, children, and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community rebuild their lives,” Rio Tinto said in a statement.
As at 2:30pm (AEDT), 12 December, Rio Tino Ltd (RIO.AX) share price is at $123.68, down from its previous close of $123.81. Its market cap is $173 billion. The BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AX) share price is at $41.77, down from its previous close of $42. Its market cap is $212 billion.