Union leader warns of General Motors strike if company misses contract deadline

General Motors, one of the US' biggest car manufacturers, could be hit by a strike at two of its Canadian plants if an employee contract deadline is missed on Monday, according to union chief Jerry Dias.

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Autoworker union Unifor is in negotiations over GM commitments for future production at the two plants, and has said that so far they haven't resulted in "anything meaningful".

Unifor also has contracts with the other two biggest US automakers, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, and deals with all three companies expire at midnight on Monday.

Dias has said that the union will not back down on the issue and will be preparing for strike action should the issue not be resolved.

"The reality is we've chosen GM as the target, and there's going to be a strike," Dias said. "At some time or another, somebody is going to bend. It’s not going to be me."

The production of finished vehicles in the plants in St.Catharines, near Niagara Falls, is quite low but over half a million engines were built there last year.

Canada has suffered a decrease in investment in its auto industry since 2008, with business being shifted south to the US and Mexico.