This is Richard Cohen, Richard is a Managing Director at Rio Tinto.
Based in Perth ,Western Australia Richard has a family, a wife and two girls. We expected that based on this and on the standards that Rio Tinto set, that someone in such a position would have no problem following the Code of Conduct, all 39 pages of it.
So tell us Richard, did you champion the behaviours that you expect the rest of your employees to follow?
Did you ensure that your team didn't break the law?
Did you ensure that countless Mining health and safety regulations were not breached?
Did those that broke the law, regulations and your own code of conduct face disciplinary action or were they allowed to carry on working as usual or promoted? Did you ensure that your own code of conduct was not broken by your team, with their lies, cover ups and blatant disregard for our health and safety and that of our children over and over again?
Did you listen and respond with empathy when you told us that you were just 'making judgement calls' on our family and the harm your team caused not only by being exposed to Asbestos but the apalling treatment we received over the 9 months (now 22 months) of trying to get answers for our children?
Judgement calls are for trains and fundraisers, not families Richard.
Did you and your team make us (as employees and members of your community) feel safe to speak up and respected when we had to fight for the truth for our children? When we were blocked from your server? When you ignored registered mail?
The list could go on but the same question (along with the countless questions regarding our exposure) that comes up that is still yet to be answered is simple- Would you allow your children to live in that contaminated house for a year? Would you deem it acceptable to be treated the way we have over the past 22 months? And would you be able to face your children and answer their questions if you walked away as you are hoping we do?
You didn't have an answer for any of those a year ago but maybe soon enough you will, we won't walk away until our family gets the answers we deserve.
Here's just a snippet from page 3 of the Rio Tinto Code of Conduct-
"We all play a vital role in delivering on our commitments and need to live by the Code and refer to it when faced with a question or dilemma. In addition, we have a separate Supplier Code of Conduct which includes clear obligations for our vendors and suppliers.
We comply with applicable laws everywhere we work. We also apply the Code when it is stricter than the law, actively choosing to do what is right, not just what is legal.
Breaking the law, our Code, or any of our policies and standards compromises our values. Anyone who breaks the law and/or our standards could face disciplinary action up to and including termination.
All members of the Rio Tinto team, we need to meet our responsibilities every day and everywhere we work. This is essential for Rio Tinto’s success and the exciting journey we are on.
We all should:
• Live our Code and values with integrity, honesty and accountability, translating our commitments into practice.
• Create a workplace where people feel safe to speak up, respected and included – so that we can all be our best selves.
• Listen and respond with empathy to any concerns shared.
• Escalate concerns to the relevant department and, where needed, ask for advice from our leader, senior leaders, and any member of the People (HR), Ethics and Compliance, and Legal teams.
While the Code applies to all of us at Rio Tinto without exception, leaders* have additional responsibilities to champion the behaviours expected in the Code, create safe spaces for their teams and set a caring tone from the top. Leaders should share the Code and relevant resources with their team members and raise awareness about how we are all expected to behave.
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