Australian mining giant Fortescue is facing a class-action lawsuit from female employees who allege widespread sexual harassment and assault against them and other women at the company’s remote fly-in, fly-out work sites.
The alleged conduct ranges from serious sexual assault to day-to-day cat calling and hostility because of their gender, according to court documents filed in Melbourne on Thursday.
In the claim, women report men stealing their underwear from public laundries and being unable to go to the gym because men touch them inappropriately.
The class action was filed in the Victorian registry of the Federal Court by law firm JGA Saddler and is backed by UK litigation funder Aristata. It alleges widespread sexual harassment, sexual violence and sex discrimination at the company’s sites.
Fortescue, whose founder and biggest shareholder is mining billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, is of Australia’s largest mining companies, operating multiple mine sites in Western Australia’s iron-ore-rich Pilbara region.
A Fortescue spokesperson on Thursday said it would be inappropriate to comment on potential claims or allegations because proceedings had not yet begun.
But he stressed that Fortescue was committed to providing a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace for all employees and contractors.
“Sexual harassment, unlawful discrimination and other behaviour that makes people feel unsafe, have no place at Fortescue,” the spokesperson said.
Rio Tinto commissioned an independent report that found in 2022 sexual harassment was widespread among its fly-in, fly-out workers. A parliamentary inquiry uncovered similar allegations at BHP in 2021.
Nick Toscano is a business reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
Simon Johanson is a business journalist at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
