Wages and benefits not on table in GM talks, CAW head says

The Canadian Auto Workers union is expecting to make sacrifices in contract talks with General Motors Canada necessary for the company to access government support, president Ken Lewenza said.

But "we believe we can maintain our existing wage and benefit package," Lewenza told reporters Thursday. The union will also try to maintain jobs in Canada.

The company and union began what Lewenza called "exploratory talks" Thursday afternoon.

"We've got to find some savings" so Canadian plants can compete with General Motors's U.S. plants to build new vehicles, Lewenza said. The United Auto Workers, the union for nearly all the company's U.S. workers, have offered concessions to GM Canada's parent company, he said.

GM Canada outlined a restructuring plan in February that would cut its Canadian workforce to 7,000 by 2010 from 12,500 today as part of its request for up to $7 billion from the federal and Ontario governments.

The government wants all participants in the industry to make sacrifices, Lewenza said. That is the backdrop to the talks with GM.

"There's a determination to get this done," he said. The union has proposed a March 15 deadline — before the official March 31 deadline — to GM and Chrysler, the other Detroit automaker seeking government aid.

Lewenza said the problem with the auto industry is not unions but the lack of consumer demand.

CAW economist Jim Stanford said hourly wages in Canada are below U.S. and German levels, and productivity is higher. Canadian plants have "a significant advantage," he said.

Chrysler is requesting around $2.8 billion in aid from the federal and Ontario governments.