The Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) and its unionized workers in Labrador City are heading back to the bargaining table.

A conciliator has been contacted and Ron Thomas, president of Local 5795 of the United Steelworkers of America, said he expects talks to resume Thursday.

A disagreement over where IOC workers in Labrador City come from caused contract talks to collapse last week.

"Our members were quite clear with us that we were going to take a stand on fly-in and fly-out," said Thomas. "And we were told if fly-in/fly-out came to the table, we were to break away from talks."

Thomas said union members still want him to oppose any IOC plan for fly-in/fly-out workers.

Union leader Ron Thomas says fly-in/fly-out workers are the key issue in contract talks with the IOC. (CBC)

The term refers to a company practice of bringing in workers who don't live in the area. It usually applies to employees who work shifts of two weeks or more at a time. They would then leave the town and travel back to their hometowns for their days off.

Thomas said union members have told him that hiring workers who don't actually live in Labrador City would destroy the community.

But Heather Bruce-Veitch, IOC's manager of human resources, said the company must explore its options for hiring workers.

"We have the ability to grow the business, to be cost-competitive, and to ensure we have skilled talent," said Bruce-Veitch. "And we believe that the remote work is a key piece of that."