Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union northern district vice president Robin Williams said ‘‘a significant number of accidents and incidents don’t appear in Rio’s 2010 annual report’’.

Mr Williams, who flew to Perth yesterday with union lodge officials from each of the Mount Thorley/Warkworth, Hunter Valley Operations and Bengalla mines, said Rio was using an outdated, adversarial approach.

He said the union was especially concerned about a substantial increase in accident rates at Mount Thorley/Warkworth

‘‘A culture of fear is permeating through Rio Tinto mines, which puts at risk the safety of mine workers,’’ Mr Williams said.

‘‘An adversarial approach to mine safety, where bosses threaten workers with disciplinary action, is outdated and should have no place in modern Australian mining.

‘‘If Rio Tinto is genuinely interested in mine safety, they should listen to the workers and have a culture of open reporting. We do not want a situation 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 for their actions.’’

A spokesman for Coal & Allied – the Rio subsidiary running the mines – said the company’s safety record had improved significantly in the past five years, both in the number of accidents and the severity of injuries recorded.

‘‘Our current focus for improving safety is to reduce the number of incidents involving hands and lower limbs, vehicles and contractors, with specific programs at each of our sites,’’ the spokesman said.

‘‘We regard improving our safety performance as an ongoing journey and our aim is that all workers can expect to return safely home at the end of their shift.’’