Fortescue becomes latest Australian miner to face sexual harassment class action suit

On June 25, Reuters reported that Fortescue, the world's fourth-largest iron ore miner, was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment of women at its remote mining sites. The suit, filed by law firm JGA Saddler, which also launched similar actions against Rio Tinto and BHP in late 2024, cites 45 testimonials describing incidents such as underwear theft from public laundries, inappropriate touching, and retaliation against women who report misconduct. "Women are telling us that they can't do their daily washing because their underwear is being stolen from the public laundries, they can't go to the gym because men are touching them inappropriately or following them back to their room," said Paris Hamrey of JGA Saddler. Fortescue CEO Dino Otranto said the company takes the allegations seriously and has invested $300 million to improve living quarters with safety features like deadlocks, swipe-card access, CCTV and better lighting, while noting ongoing work is needed. He stated, "These are extremely serious allegations and Fortescue takes them very seriously." The article places the case in context of a 2022 Western Australian government report that found sexual harassment rampant in the fly-in, fly-out mining sector, and notes that Fortescue reported a 27% drop in harassment cases in the 2025 financial year, unlike Rio Tinto and BHP which saw increases.

(Source：Reuters)