Living conditions for FIFO resources workers at a Pilbara motel are "disgraceful and deplorable" according to the Maritime Union of Australia's (MUA) WA branch.
MUA WA North West organiser Joel O'Brien said the situation at the Lodge Motel in South Hedland was "out of control", and one worker was hospitalised with a staph infection after scratching his leg on furniture in his room.
He said rooms were not adequately cleaned, with some workers choosing to bring their own cleaning products.
Mr O'Brien said there was a "massive" rodent and pest infestation in the building.
"I've actually got pictures of mice having eaten into noodles, chocolate bars, and chip packets when the guys are sleeping," he said.
Mr O'Brien said some workers resorted to bringing their own food.
"[The motel] reuses meals constantly for the meals the next day, the hot food's cold, and the cold food's hot. There's been bouts of food poisoning," he said.
The Lodge Motel is commonly used to house FIFO workers, with some resource companies booking up to 30 rooms at a time.
The ABC understands the union is focused on workers in the shipping, towage, and marine industries, but workers from multiple other resource sectors stayed at the motel too.
The union would not name the companies placing workers at the motel at this stage as it was undergoing negotiations with some of them.
Motel denies wrongdoing
Lodge Motel manager Helen Hong said while the site was not "100 per cent perfect", any serious hazards or mess were caused by people staying in the rooms.
She said neither the union nor workers had made an official complaint.
"The photos they're posting in there, they try to make things look bad. But in fact it's not," she said.
"They've never made an official complaint to us."
Ms Hong said the motel was regularly inspected by the Town of Port Hedland and any animals in the rooms were reported to pest controllers.
"The Town of Port Hedland health inspector comes and visits us on a regular basis. They have to do their job, they have to check around the place, and our place — really, I can't say is 100 per cent perfect — but it's very, very good."
Union reports conditions
The union has reported Lodge Motel to the Town of Port Hedland and was considering referring the matter to WorkSafe.
Mayor Peter Carter said the town's health team had completed an inspection of the motel and a directions letter would be issued to ensure any compliance matters were rectified.
Mr Carter said the owners did a "great job" trying to keep the motel up to date, but short-staffing was likely making it more difficult to manage.
"I think a lot of places are not so much run down, but maybe overlook certain things where if they had the staff on board they would rectify that quite quickly," he said.
Mr O'Brien said, given the lack of accommodation available in Hedland, solving the issue would likely be a challenge.
The Lodge Motel is advertised at $229 a night, a rate that Mr O'Brien said was standard in the area.
He said resource companies often did not have much of a choice as to where they housed workers.
"Price is a big issue. There's a clear reason for companies to short-change on it as opposed to going for the more expensive one," he said.
"If you've got 20 workers in a room at night and it's saving $60 per person, that adds up pretty quick."
