GM announces tentative agreement on new accord covering 52,000 employees

Only minutes before the expiry of their contract, the United Automobile Workers union and General Motors, announced a tentative agreement last night, on a new national accord covering about 52,000 employees.

The union president praised the accord in a statement,  ''We believe that this agreement will present stable long-term significant wage gains and job security commitments to UAW members now and in the future.''

''We look forward to presenting the details of these gains to local union leaders and the membership.''

Details were not disclosed, though the union suggested that the tentative agreement maintained the wage progression formulation forged in the agreement reached last week with Fiat Chrysler.

Union leaders from GM plants across the US will convene Wednesday in Detroit to discuss and vote on the tentative agreement, which would then be put to union members.

The Fiat Chrysler agreement last week was reached only after the rejection of an earlier tentative accord by the union membership and the union set a strike deadline (See: United Auto Workers, Fiat Chrysler strike deal).

Cathy Clegg, GM's vice president for North American manufacturing and labour relations, said in a statement, ''Working with our UAW. partners, we developed constructive solutions that benefit employees and provide flexibility for the company to respond to the needs of the marketplace.''

GM and the UAW had been discussing since July, the union's demand to shorten the service time required for workers to reach top pay and the scrapping of a two-tier wage structure. The union -- which secured a new four-year agreement with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV last week -- had said around 53,000 US auto workers would strike work if a deal was not finalised by the Sunday deadline.

The Detroit Free Press reported that the agreement with GM was likely to be similar to the union's new contract with Fiat Chrysler, which was overwhelmingly ratified by worker vote.