NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Canadian Auto Workers union and DaimlerChrysler Canada averted a strike early on Tuesday, reaching a tentative three-year agreement providing modest wage, pension and benefit increases.þþThe agreement, reached on the day the current contract was due to expire, also improves job security for workers at plants in Brampton, Windsor and Etobicoke, Ontario.þþIn a joint statement in Toronto, the two sides said the deal provides for the same level of wage, pension and benefits increases as the agreement negotiated last week between the CAW and Ford Canada.þþLike the Ford agreement, the CAW-DaimlerChrysler deal contains measures aimed at reducing the cost of health-care benefits.þþDetails of the DaimlerChrysler wage increases were not released, but the deal with Ford includes wage increases of 45 Canadian cents an hour in the first year, 30 in the second, and 30 in the third.þþThe toughest negotiations between the CAW and DaimlerChrysler Canada dealt with local job security and operational issues, the statement said. The automaker had wanted to slash 2,500 jobs and the union threatened to strike if the company did not back off its demands.þþSignificant changes in work practices were negotiated with the aim of enhancing productivity. However, with a C$70,000 restructuring incentive to encourage early retirement, the changes should not result in any lay-offs, it said.þþThe contract provides for the continued operation of the Etobicoke castings plant, with fewer workers, while the Windsor and Brampton assembly plants will keep three-shift schedules.þþ``We have negotiated some incredibly far-reaching changes in work practices in this agreement, all with the goal of strengthening the Canadian auto industry,'' said CAW President Buzz Hargrove. ``Our union does not resist change, so long as we can manage it in a way that does not threaten our members.''þþMark Gendregske, DaimlerChrysler Canada Vice President of Human Resources said: ``We believe this is a fair and responsible contract that recognizes the contributions of our CAW workforce, while enhancing DaimlerChrysler Canada's overall competitiveness.''þþLast week, the CAW said 95 percent of the 11,600 Ford Canada workers who voted had accepted the deal, which sets standards on wages and other issues the union wanted DaimlerChrysler Canada and General Motors of Canada to match.þþ
Source: NY Times
