Iron-ore major Fortescue on Monday confirmed it had been served with a class action on behalf of current and former female employees alleging sexual harassment and sex discrimination.

Reuters previously reported the class action ‌lawsuit alleges the widespread sexual harassment of women at its remote mining sites.

The suit was filed by law firm JGA Saddler, which also launched similar class action lawsuits against Rio Tinto and BHP in late 2024. Those cases are still winding their way through the courts.

In 2022, the Western Australian State government ​recommended sweeping industry changes after detailing what it said was horrifying behaviour against women and finding sexual harassment and assault ​were rife in the fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) mining sector.

"Time and time again, women are telling us that ⁠they don't feel safe at the Fortescue mine sites," JGA Saddler litigator Paris Hamrey said in a statement.

"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," she said.

"These are extremely serious allegations and Fortescue takes them very seriously," said Dino Otranto, the company's CEO for metals and operations, adding that the miner is committed to maintaining an open and inclusive workplace. He declined to ​comment on specific allegations.

"Do we have more work to do? Yes. The industry-wide inquiry several years ago made it clear that ​the entire sector needed to lift its standards, and we’ve invested significantly in critical infrastructure and initiatives across our operations to help ensure everyone feels ‌safe, ⁠respected and included at work.”

LAW FIRM SAYS WOMEN DEMOTED, DISMISSED AFTER REPORTING

The statement from JGA Saddler included 45 testimonials from women who have worked at Fortescue describing incidents they faced.

"I came home one night to find a random man in my room," wrote one woman.

Fortescue has said it was investing $300-million to improve living quarters at the sites with a focus on safety, including deadlocks, swipe-card access systems, ​CCTV and better lighting.

Hamrey said that ​when women at Fortescue have ⁠reported incidents, they were demoted, dismissed, silenced or blacklisted from the industry altogether.

Australia is the world's top producer of iron-ore and many of the country's far-flung mines are serviced by FIFO workers. ​Women comprise 22% of the mining industry's workforce, up from around 18% at the start of ​the decade.

Fortescue reported ⁠22 cases of sexual harassment to Western Australia's mines safety regulator in the 2025 financial year, down 27% from a year earlier, according to its latest safety report.

Of the three companies, it was the only one to report a decrease.

Last year, Rio Tinto's care hub, which ⁠supports employees ​who report an array of disrespectful or harmful workplace behaviours including harassment, logged ​702 incidents, up 24% from the year prior, according to its annual report.

BHP reported 429 incidents of sexual harassment in fiscal 2025, a 3% increase, according to its ​annual report, which also said that 100 individuals found responsible were either fired or resigned.