Workers of Ford Malaysia Sdn Bhd may have reason to rejoice after being told negotiations over the terms and conditions of a new collective agreement (CA) will resume.

Having accused the company of engaging in 'delaying tactics, a picket was held yesterday which saw the participation of hundreds of workers outside the company's distribution and assembly plant in Shah Alam.

They were protesting what was claimed to be Ford Malaysia's announcement on Tuesday that it 'had no mandate' from the company's top management to pursue negotiations over the collective agreement.

Ford Malaysia (formerly called Associated Motor Industries of Malaysia Sdn Bhd - Amim) is a 49/51 percent joint-venture between Ford Motors and Sime Darby Sdn Bhd 's wholly-owned subsidiary Tractors Malaysia.

The CA negotiations, which began last April after the previous collective agreement expired in December 2005, were set to have resumed yesterday.

National Union of Transport Equipment and Allied Industries Workers (NUTEAIW) general-secretary N Gopalkishnam said the workers were informed after their picket that Ford Malaysia will continue with the talks.

"They told us the negotiations will resume next Wednesday. This is, of course, good news to all of us," said Gopalkishnam when contacted today.

Among the sticky points in the talks between NUTEAIW and Ford Malaysia include the issue of annual increments for those workers who had reached the ceiling of their salary grades, said Gobalkishnam.

Retrenchment benefits

The wages of assemblers, in particular, range from a minimum of RM600 to a ceiling of RM2,200. They make up the bulk of workers, numbering 50-60 persons from across the five different grades, who are said to have reached the ceiling of their salary grades.

"There are workers who have served the company for 20 to 25 years who have not gotten their increments since 2005 because of this. Coming to the end of 2006, this may be the second year which they will not get their increment," said Gopalkishnam.

"With RM1,000, a worker cannot buy the same things as he or she would have been able to purchase one year ago. The price of fuel and many other things have gone up. The only thing that has not increased is these workers' salaries. In fact, (the value of) their salaries has gone down," he added.

Another hitch in the negotiations, said Gopalkishnam, pertained to retrenchment benefits. The union is also seeking to extend the retirement age to 56 from the present age of 55 years.

When contacted, Ford Malaysia's public affairs manager Mark Devan declined to comment on the details of the negotiations with the union representatives.

He denied, however, that there was ever a cancellation or even a postponement of negotiations as alleged by Gopalkishnam.

As a matter of fact, said Devan, the union representatives were informed during the meeting on Tuesday that the talks were set to resume next week on Wednesday "... to allow more time to discuss and review the proposals submitted by them."

"In the event of a deadlock between the parties, perhaps there would be grounds for them to picket. But in this case, there is no deadlock. Negotiations will resume next Wednesday and we look forward to reaching conclusions," he said.