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3 September, 2002Agreement is reached without a conflict.
MEXICO: On September 3, after three weeks of negotiations, the IMF-affiliated VW autoworkers' union (Sindicato Independiente de Trabajadores de la Industria Automotriz VW) reached agreement with VW Mexico management for a collective contract covering workers at the company's assembly complex in Puebla.
The deal, which just beat the deadline set by the union, boosts wages for hourly workers by 5.5 per cent, and gives an additional 1.5 per cent increase in benefits.
Commenting on the successful outcome of the bargaining talks, the union's general secretary, José Luis Rodriguez Salazar, said that "most importantly, we avoided a conflict."
The union, representing 75 per cent of the 16,000 workers at the Puebla plant, staged a 19-day strike last year in order to achieve their wage demands. The complex, situated 100 km southeast of Mexico City, is VW's only assembly operation in North America and the sole producer of the new "Beetle".