9 May, 2011
Deteriorating safety conditions inside Rio Tinto’s Australian coal mines in New South Wales was brought to the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) in Perth on 5 May. ICEM affiliate Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) delivered a sharp attack on the company’s laxness over health and safety at majority-held Hunter Valley coal mining and processing operations.
CFMEU NSW Northern District Vice President Robin Williams said that a significant number of accidents and incidents are not reflected in Rio Tinto’s annual report. Williams and a workplace leader from each of three coal operations were vocal and critical of the company’s coal-mine safety before shareholders at the AGM last week.
Williams said Rio Tinto has “an adversarial approach to mine safety” at Coal & Allied Ltd., which includes mines at Mount Thorley/Warkworth, the Hunter Valley operations, and Bengalla. He said a “culture of fear” permeates the workplaces where threats of discipline and common and are “outdated and should have no place in modern Australian mining.
“We do not want a situation,” Williams added, “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.”
The mineworkers told shareholders that the company’s goal of zero harm and reality are far apart. They said the culture of fear that exists at Hunter Valley actually exacerbates risks. Rio owns 76% of the Hunter Valley coal operations.
CEO Tom Albanese also had to address the near overflow this year of a tailings pond at Rio’s 68% held Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory. The company’s Energy Resources of Australia Ltd. (ERA) shut production in January due to heavy rains. Albanese said the company will inject A$220 million into ERA for updated water treatment and management systems.