Ford says strike at Russian plant to end Dec 17
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - U.S. car maker Ford Motor Co (F.N) will resume full production at its Russian plant on Monday after a four-week strike that threatened to curtail a planned increase in output.
Ford said in a statement on Friday discussions on a pay deal for its employees would begin after work had restarted on the full three shifts. The plant near St Petersburg has been running on two shifts since December 10.
Workers, who began the strike on November 20, are demanding a 30 percent wage increase. High inflation in Russia has fuelled demands for higher salaries across the country.
"This morning the trade union ... told us they are ready to commence negotiations on the full package of items for the 2008 contract within a schedule agreed by both parties today," Ford said in the statement.
Local union leaders were not immediately available for comment.
During the strike, factory bosses have said they would not negotiate with unions until all employees had returned to work.
"Negotiations on the new 2008 labor contract package will begin on Monday," Theo Streit, the plant's director, said.
The Vsevolozhsk plant normally operates three shifts per day using around 2,000 workers and producing 300 Focus model cars per day. Production on a single-shift basis resumed on November 28.
The Ford factory in Russia plans to invest $100 million to increase capacity to 125,000 cars per year. The head of the factory had warned that the strike may affect these plans.
(Reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Editing by Quentin Bryar)
