Cramped rooms, poor quality food, constant surveillance and no internet access.
It sounds like a prison, but these are the living conditions faced by Queensland miners as companies are rewarded with tax incentives to build workers' camps, the mining workers' union CFMEU says.
It has called on the federal government to use its tax white paper to review the incentives after auditing mining camps in central Queensland.
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union's camp audit report, released on Saturday, shows some miners are given little choice but to use temporary accommodation with poor living conditions.
"The federal government must put an end to the tax breaks which give companies an incentive to build camps and prioritise FIFO arrangements at the expense of communities," CFMEU Queensland district president Steve Smyth said.
The are 69 camps with about 32,000 beds in the Bowen Basin, with varying standards.
While some have facilities such as swimming pools and tennis courts, others are small with windowless dongas and are so badly lit that female workers are scared to leave their rooms at night.
The report said one camp was so close to a sewerage system it had to be evacuated sometimes because of the smell.
Workers surveyed complained about unclean living conditions, unhealthy food, poor recreational facilities and excessive noise.
Some said they felt they were under constant surveillance because of the security cameras, room inspections and not being able to leave the camp.
The CFMEU wants to see an end to 100 per cent FIFO operations to allow workers to choose whether to stay in town or live locally with their families.
The union also wants camps to have minimum standards for room sizes, heating and cooling, food and recreational facilities.
