A poultry farm worker in South Australia has accused his employer of a breach of contract for failing to provide liveable accommodation.
Scott Mackenzie has been working as a manager for Ceres Poultry Group on a chicken farm in Port Wakefield for eight months.
He said he agreed to take the job because he was promised a place for him, his partner and their five children to live.
The seven of them moved into a house on the farm, which they discovered was riddled with mould.
Mr Mackenzie said the company's operational manager organised builders to fix the mould, but claimed the work was cheaply done and that the builder told the family to "deal with it".
Mr Mackenzie said he texted the operational manager multiple times about the mould but nothing more was done.
"They then made me rip up the lino without any safety equipment," Mr Mackenzie said.
"My partner is on steroids to help get the mould out of her system."
10 metres from a chicken shed
Mr Mackenzie said he was also sick and that his kids had been to hospital because they were suffering from mould exposure symptoms.
He said the family found somewhere else to stay, but that was a dead end.
"We found accommodation for ourselves if they were willing to pay for it, but they didn't want to do that," Mr Mackenzie said.
After several complaints to the company, the family was moved into a biosecurity zone that was used as a staff office.
"We were in a room 10 metres away from the chicken sheds that had ammonia pumping out," Mr Mackenzie said.
"They just put mattresses on the ground in an active workplace."
Rats, spiders and no running water
The family were then moved into two caravans that Mr Mackenzie said were infested with rats and spiders.
He said there was no air conditioning or running water and that the kitchens and toilets were unusable.
Mr Mackenzie claimed his family had no choice but to go to the toilet outside.
"There was nowhere to wash the bottles for our baby," he said.
"They expected my partner and I to live in one of the caravans and my children in the other.
"I'm stressed and depressed from moving all the time."
Action was immediate, Ceres says
A spokesperson for Ceres Poultry Group said the company regarded the safety, working and living conditions of its employees to be of the utmost importance.
"Upon being informed by our employee of an issue with their housing, the company immediately engaged external contractors to rectify the situation and repair the damage," the spokesperson said.
"Ceres Poultry Group has — and continues to — provide the employee and their family with alternative accommodation arrangements in what is a very limited market, especially in the lead-up to the holiday period."
Mr Mackenzie said he was still employed by the company but was on annual leave and had been told not to visit the farm while he was off work.
He and his family are staying at a beachfront villa in Wallaroo, which is being paid for by Ceres, until December 20.
Mr Mackenzie does not know where they will go after that.
SafeWork SA has been notified of the situation and is making inquiries.
