Stillwater Mining's tentative agreement over the contract between itself and workers has been rejected by the miners' union, the company reports.

The organisation and union have been locked in talks since May 4th and on June 21st, Stillwater announced that it had reached a tentative agreement with USW International Union over the future contract, but that was subject to ratification by the union's members.

However, members have now voted against the agreement and as such there are growing concerns that the current contract will run out with nothing to replace it.

Stillwater has stated that so far mining operations have not been affected by the discussions over the contract. However, the current contract runs out on July 1st and with no alternative in place, the company has warned that its production could face disruption unless a deal is agreed.

The company has said that there can be "no assurances" that any new deal will be reached before July 1st, although following the rejection of the tentative agreement, both sides have agreed to a further round of negotiations beginning immediately to hammer out a new agreement.

Source:

Tentative Agreement for Stillwater Mine and Processing Facilities Rejected by Union Vote, 28/06/07
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