Workers at Ford Plant in Mexico End 1-Week Strike

A week-old strike at a Ford Motor Co. engine assembly plant in northern Mexico was lifted Thursday and a labor leader said last-minute talks have delayed threatened firings of workers who walked off their jobs at a second plant.

About 1,200 workers who went out on strike last Wednesday at the engine plant in the northern state of Chihuahua agreed to return to work after the company granted them a 27.4% wage hike, Ford spokesman Carlos Bandala said.

The plant, which ordinarily produces 1,300 engines a day, had been shut down by the strike.

Bandala said the company also entered a new round of talks Thursday morning aimed at ending a month-old strike at its Cuautitlan vehicle assembly plant on the outskirts of Mexico City. The walkout has prevented some 15,000 vehicles from rolling off the assembly line.

Bandala said Wednesday that the company had begun massive firings to break the strike. On Thursday, however, he said the firings of up to 2,400 workers were open to reconsideration “on a case-by-case basis.”

The Cuautitlan workers walked out to press demands for payment of Christmas bonuses and for a shake-up in their industry’s union leadership. They have repeatedly accused the union of corruption and failing to stand up for workers’ rights.