The news follows immediately on a decision by HD to repatriate 16 Chinese workers brought in to conduct underground preparatory work at the company’s Murray River coal project in British Colombia.

HD’s plan to bring in 200 Chinese miners for the project near Tumber Ridge prompted a protracted legal battle in which the International Union of Operating Engineers and the Construction and Specialized Workers Union reviewed hundreds of refused resumes after a court order for release of the documents.

The unions reportedly claim that multiple Canadian applicants had exemplary qualifications and should have been given first rights to available jobs at Murray River.

“Clearly the evidence after reviewing these resumes support what we’ve been doing all along and clearly there were qualified Canadians who should have had an opportunity at these jobs,” IUOE spokesman Brian Cochrane said in a report by the Canadian Press.

“It appears that some of them didn’t even have an opportunity for an interview.”

Unions have claimed that one rejected applicant had 30 years of wide-ranging and extensive experience in all aspects of underground mining while another had 20 years experience including three years as an underground supervisor, according to the report.

Last week, HD said it was sending 16 Chinese workers home because of uncertainty caused by the ongoing dispute.

The delayed work entails the extraction of a 100,000 tonne coal sample to determine the viability of full mine development and confirmation that the coal is marketable.

In December, a federal court sided with the miner but pressure on the imported labor scheme nevertheless generated a significant risk factor of uncertainty.

“This was a difficult decision for us but we are very concerned about the cost and disruption this litigation brought by the unions has caused to the planning of the project,” HD regulatory affairs vice president Jody Shimkus said.

“We need reasonable certainty before initiating work on our underground bulk sample.

“We have also decided to delay bringing any additional workers to Tumbler Ridge until we have reliable certainty.”