Miners tackle Rio Tinto on safety

Newcastle Herald 05 May, 2011

The mineworkers’ union will use today’s Rio Tinto annual general meeting in Perth to highlight what it says are worrying safety trends at the company’s three Hunter Valley mines.

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union northern district vice president Robin Williams said ‘‘a significant number of accidents and incidents don’t appear in Rio’s 2010 annual report’’.

Mr Williams, who flew to Perth yesterday with union lodge officials from each of the Mount Thorley/Warkworth, Hunter Valley Operations and Bengalla mines, said Rio was using an outdated, adversarial approach.

He said the union was especially concerned about a substantial increase in accident rates at Mount Thorley/Warkworth

‘‘A culture of fear is permeating through Rio Tinto mines, which puts at risk the safety of mine workers,’’ Mr Williams said.

‘‘An adversarial approach to mine safety, where bosses threaten workers with disciplinary action, is outdated and should have no place in modern Australian mining.

‘‘If Rio Tinto is genuinely interested in mine safety, they should listen to the workers and have a culture of open reporting. We do not want a situation where workers are uneasy about speaking out in case they face disciplinary procedures.

“If there is an accident or incident at a mine site, we want a proper investigation to make sure that it doesn’t happen again, not a scapegoat who is disciplined for their actions.’’