The lockout of around 560 workers at Rio Tinto Minerals’ borates mine in Boron, southern California, looks set to continue as management and union representatives both claim the other is refusing to negotiate.
The mining group on Monday locked the gates on workers represented by a division of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) following five months of negotiations over a new labour agreement.
Rio Tinto has gathered a temporary workforce comprising employees from the group’s other operations and external contractors, along with the 170 workers unaffected by the lockout.
“The workforce...