Women’s-only gyms and secret slogans around the bar are among a raft of measures put forward by WA’s peak resources body as best practice to help combat sexual harassment in the workplace.
Women’s-only gyms and secret slogans around the bar are among a raft of measures put forward by WA’s peak resources body as best practice to help combat sexual harassment in the workplace.
Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA on Monday released a 26-page response plan for the sector to stamp out inappropriate behaviour through adoption identified in the WA Government’s damning Enough is Enough report.
The guidelines canvass nine pillars including leadership, security, reporting standards and employee support.
Among 77 examples implemented in the industry is the Ask for Angela initiative, which teaches staff to discreetly take concerned patrons to safety and address inappropriate behaviour when they ask for Angela or an angel shot.
The initiative was one of several alcohol-focused examples which also included providing free non-alcoholic drinks and opening drinks at point of purchase to prevent stockpiling.
CME WA chief executive Rebecca Tomkinson said there was no one-size-fits-all approach which would solve sector-wide workplace behaviour issues.
“The health and safety of our industry’s workforce, including their physical and psychological safety, is the number one priority for the Western Australian mining and resources sector,” she said.
“With this in mind, the Industry Actions document drives the adoption of best practice management of workplace behaviour-related hazards and risks through the provision of a series of practical examples of work, health, and safety controls, including considerations across prevention, risk mitigation, response, and recovery.”
Other measures suggested include empowering bystanders to speak up, holding stop work meetings to acknowledge sexual harassment, and rolling out women’s only gyms to more sites.
Fortescue, one of the early adopters of women's-only gyms, said the CME document was an important step towards eliminating inappropriate behaviour.
"Fortescue take its responsibility to provide a safe, inclusive and respectful workplace for all team members very seriously," a spokesperson said.
"We remain committed to enhancing the safety and experience of everyone working across Fortescue through our ongoing Workplace Integrity Review.
"Many of our villages have female only gyms, and we continue to work towards introducing more as further enhancements to our villages take place."
Companies have also been urged to end the use of non-disclosure agreements and confidentiality clauses for victims.
