MONTREAL (AFP)--General Motors Corp. (GM) and auto workers have
made some headway in last-gasp negotiations and will continue their
talks Sunday, even though a government deadline has expired, labor
officials said.
Canadian Auto Workers President Ken Lewenza said in a statement
that talks would proceed Sunday after "progress" had been made on
important points, although many issues remained "unresolved."
"Our CAW negotiating team continues to work hard to reach an
agreement with General Motors," union president Ken Lewenza said in
a statement late Saturday, a day after the deadline for agreement
set by the Canadian government.
"We will continue our talks as we work towards reaching a
tentative agreement that we can bring back to our membership for
ratification."
"We have made some progress, however, there are a number of key
issues that remain unresolved at this point," Lewenza said.
Ottawa gave the ailing U.S. car company and the union until May
15 to renegotiate a labor contract deemed critical to GM's
survival, or risk losing a bailout of up to C$3 billion (US$2.5
billion).
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said earlier a taxpayer-funded
bailout "is dependent upon all of the stakeholders making the
difficult decisions necessary to ensure the viability of the
company."
But as recently as Friday, Lewenza called GM's demands for deep
labor cost cuts "overzealous" and insisted there was "no way" the
union would make the wide-ranging concessions proposed by the
company.