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GM, workers reach tentative pact

General Motors Corp (GM) has reached a tentative deal with striking autoworkers who shut down 80 plants across the US, the US-based automaker said yesterday.

More than 73,000 United Auto Workers (UAW) members walked off the job on Monday morning after contract talks broke down over issues of job security and health care.

GM said the new national contract, which is subject to union ratification and court approval, includes a historic agreement to establish an independent trust to cover the costs of retiree health care.

The automaker said that the agreement "paves the way for GM to significantly improve its manufacturing competitiveness, providing the basis for maintaining and strengthening its core manufacturing base located in the United States."

"This agreement helps us close the fundamental competitive gaps that exist in our business," GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said in a statement.

"The projected competitive improvements in this agreement will allow us to maintain a strong manufacturing presence in the United States along with significant future investments," he said.

The UAW said yesterday that it had reached a tentative contract agreement with GM shortly after 3am and that workers would be encouraged to go back to work immediately.

The tentative contract must be reviewed by local union presidents and will then be subject to a vote of GM's 73,000 rank-and-file union members.

The agreement is expected to set a pattern for upcoming contract negotiations at Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC.

The union said it went on strike largely because GM failed to make promises for future products and investment in US plants.

The strike has had an impact at non-UAW GM plants and suppliers.

On Tuesday, GM idled two car assembly lines employing about 5,600 people at its plant in Oshawa, Ontario. On Monday, it idled a transmission plant in Windsor, Ontario, that employs 1,300.

Workers at both plants are represented by the Canadian Auto Workers union.

Parts shortages forced GM to cancel one shift on Tuesday at a Moraine, Ohio, assembly plant that makes sport utility vehicles.

The plant's 2,300 workers are represented by the International Union of Electronic Workers-Communication Workers.

Delphi Corp, GM's largest supplier, said on Tuesday it was temporarily laying off workers.

Spokesman Lindsey Williams wouldn't give numbers because the situation was in flux.

Delphi has about 25 US plants that supply parts for GM.
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