Citing 'Progress,' Canada Union Head Says GM Talks Continuing

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.