Diversity

Rio Tinto Coal Australia encourages gender and ethnic diversity in our workforce.

We employ on the basis of job requirements and do not discriminate on ground of age, ethnic or social origin, gender, sexual orientation, politics or religion. Exceptions are made to favour local employment where local laws provide. We do not employ forced, bonded or child labour.

We aim to build gender diversity in our workforce by targeting women from non traditional mining roles and actively employing local indigenous people through our indigenous employment strategy.

Read our feature on women in mining.

Read our feature on our indigenous employment programme at Hunter Valley Operations.

Results

In 2007 our target was to increase diversity of our workforce by targeting people from non traditional mining roles in the recruitment process.

In 2007 we employed 307 females and throughout the year significant efforts were made to increase female participation at our operations.

We have increased the percentage of women in our workforce by at least 1 per cent since 2005. In 2007, the percentage of women in our workforce was 10.1 per cent.

Most notably Hail Creek Mine was successful in increasing its female participation through a targeted recruitment campaign which received national recognition when the operation received the national 2007 Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workforce Agency Award for the 'advancement of women in non traditional industries'.

In 2007 we also committed to continuing implementation of the Rio Tinto Coal Australia Indigenous Employment Strategy. This strategy is a combination of direct employment, encouraging contractors to employ indigenous people and supporting the development of indigenous owned enterprises to provide services to the mines.

As part of the Indigenous Employment Strategy, in 2007 Hunter Valley Operations ran a pilot programme which provided support and facilities for five indigenous trainees to become operators contracting by companies working at the operation.

Hail Creek Mine also employed two local indigenous people who completed traineeships in office administration.

In addition to these initiatives, in 2007 the Clermont project ran a targeted recruitment campaign to ensure female and indigenous representation at the new operation.

A final 2007 target was to integrate indigenous employment into the Rio Tinto Coal Australia Contract Management System.