The workers voted against the new enterprise agreement offered by Xstrata late last week by a margin of 235 to 1.

CFMEU district vice-president Graham White told ILN the one person who did support the agreement had incorrectly filled out the paperwork and had since apologised to his colleagues.

Since Friday afternoon workers have enacted four-hour rolling stoppages – half of their 8-hour shifts – and the previous production limits on coal cutting and wash plant output have returned.

But White said yesterday the industrial action would cease at midnight because of the outcome of the vote, with the expectation that Xstrata will come to the bargaining table.

Before this latest development, an Xstrata spokesperson told ILN the company was disappointed with the result of the vote and was taking the appropriate time required to assess “all options available”.

He said the restrictive work practices were not in the interests of continued production and functionality of the operation.

“We have kept our customers well informed throughout the EA negotiation process. They are very well aware of the CFMEU’s continued interruptions to production.

“We have managed those customer expectations as best we can but certainly at this stage the continued industrial action does nothing for the reputation of the Tahmoor mine and its ability to operate effectively.”

On the enterprise agreement negotiations, the spokesperson said the union had publicly stated it wanted conditions that were 30 years old, meaning they were out of step with the rest of the industry and the federal government.

White said workers at most pits in the future would be fighting for the same conditions as Tahmoor because the new Fair Work Act allowed for the same conditions as of 30 years ago.

With the picket line going down tonight, the union will have to give three days notice to Fair Work Australia if it chooses to resume industrial action.