Five workers on the Sino Iron Ore project in the Pilbara have been fired after not attending work on ANZAC day.
ABC Rural reports the DIAB Engineering employees were stood down after attending a dawn service and not returning to work.
A DIAB spokesperson said arrangements had been made for workers to attend ANZAC ceremonies and then return to work.
They said if employees wanted to take the entire day off they needed to apply for leave, and the dismissed workers had failed to do so.
"Anyone who was stood down was because they refused to return to work at the agreed time, in other words they make themselves available for work, they're scheduled on a roster and unless they've got a reason for illness or injury or a very, very good reason that is acceptable to us they're required to be at work," they said.
The spokesperson said employees had the opportunity to apply to have the day off.
"If they apply for it we wouldn’t unreasonably withhold it," they said.
"It just depends on the workforce available on the day and the work priority of the day."
ABC Rural reports Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union state secretary Joe McDonald said the workers should get their jobs back.
He said the union "just wont cop" the company's reasons for dismissing its employees.
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