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| Canadian Auto Workers union President Buzz Hargrove shakes hands with Ford Canada's lead negotiator, Stacey Allerton Firth. (CP PHOTO/Adrian Wyld) | ||
TORONTO (CP) - Ford Canada will have 1,100 fewer jobs in Ontario and one less factory by the end of a three-year labour deal reached with the Canadian Auto Workers on Monday.
The deal, which must be ratified this weekend by 11,600 Ford factory workers in Oakville, Windsor and St. Thomas, also includes the smallest wage increases the CAW has ever negotiated since the union was established in 1985.
But CAW president Buzz Hargrove hopes few involuntary layoffs will occur thanks to early retirement incentives and job transfers to Ford factories such as Oakville's, which could see its 3,500-member workforce rise following a $1-billion site expansion planned for next year.
He called the overall deal a "responsible" one that will help Ford get through its current financial difficulties without gutting the automaker's presence in Ontario.
"Given the difficult situation we're in, I don't believe anyone anticipated we could do better than that," Hargrove told reporters of the investments.
"The tentative agreement, we think, is one that's sustainable," said Ford Canada's lead negotiator, Stacey Allerton Firth. "We think it meets the needs of both our CAW-represented employees and our vision for a competitive future in Canada."
The estimated nine per cent cut to Ford's Ontario manufacturing workforce is the net effect over the next three years of potential new hires in Oakville, offset by retirements and the Windsor parts plant closure. Word of the cuts come as Ford prepares for a broader restructuring plan of its continental manufacturing operations, expected to be released this winter.
Ford Canada won't comment on specifics of the contract until after the deal is ratified.
But Hargrove said he was able to achieve "modest" improvements in wages, benefits and pensions in a deal that he'll demand DaimlerChrysler and General Motors accept in so-called pattern bargaining. Assuming Ford's workers accept the deal, the union will dive into bargaining with either DaimlerChrysler or GM next week.
Hargrove has indicated it's possible that 11,400 DaimlerChrysler workers will go on strike unless the automaker backs off its demands for more outsourcing of manufacturing work. There would be potential for a strike by more than 17,000 GM workers if the company refused to accept the wage and benefit gains seen in the Ford deal.
Those gains are minute compared to past agreements. The 2002 CAW deal with the Big Three saw annual base wage gains of three per cent. The new deal calls for what roughly amounts to a 1.5 per cent improvement in the first year of the contract, and further one per cent improvements in each of the subsequent two years.
Hargrove said the union negotiated adding a potential new vehicle to the production mix in St. Thomas. Sources had speculated a Lincoln Town Car - made on the same platform as the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis - would be moved from a Michigan plant to the Ontario city. Hargrove said he's seen the revised designs for the sedans made there and expects they'll sell well.
"This is not a band-aid solution," he said of the St. Thomas investment.
Still, some observers say the St. Thomas factory, which has an aging workforce, could be positioned again for closure after 2008.
The deal includes modest improvements to pension benefits for Ford Canada retirees and increased restructuring benefits, which rise to $70,000 from $60,000, to encourage workers to retire voluntarily and protect the jobs of younger employees.
The steeper discounts will only be available on Ford cars made in North America.
Link to the original article from Canadian Business can be found here.
