GM workers in Brazil strike for 17 pct wage hike

* Union seeking 9.4 pct salary increase above inflation

* Carmakers backing off production due to rising stocks

* Tight labor market pressuring inflation despite slowdown

SAO PAULO, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Metalworkers at a General Motors (GM.N) factory in Brazil decided to go on strike on Tuesday to demand a 17.45 percent wage increase just as the industry is scaling back production amid rising inventories.

Workers at the plant in Sao Paulo state are seeking a 9.4 percent real salary increase above their calculation of inflation. Brazil's official IPCA inflation rate is running at an annual pace of 7.2 percent.

The company has offered to raise real wages by 2 percent, according to the Metalworkers Union of Sao Jose dos Campos. GM did not comment on wage talks at the factory, which is one of six operated by the carmaker in Brazil.

The negotiations come as carmakers are throttling back production due to high inventories and signs of cooling demand in Latin America's largest economy after a red-hot first half of the year. For more, see [ID:nN1E7840WP] and [ID:nN1E7840UO]

Brazil's labor market has remained tight even as the economy slows from last year's torrid growth of 7.5 percent.

Late last month, the ABC Metalworkers Union in Sao Paulo state agreed to a two-year deal to raise real wages by 5 percent.

The number of middle-class Brazilians has grown 25 percent in the past decade, making it a crucial growth market for the world's biggest automakers as developed economies stagnate.

(Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr.; Writing by Brad Haynes; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)