Benefits account for $19-an-hour difference in Chrysler, Toyota labour costs: analysis

Benefits account for most of the $19-an-hour difference between the cost of a worker at Chrysler Canada and at the Canadian arm of Japanese automaker Toyota, The Canadian Press said Wednesday.

A $19-an-hour cut is the amount the federal government and Chrysler's potential corporate ally, Fiat, are demanding from the Canadian Auto Workers as the price of supporting the company.

The CAW has been resisting the cut, saying smaller concessions made to GM Canada should be enough, as the company and union try to hammer out a deal before an April 30 deadline.

The union has disputed Chrysler's claim that its labour costs total $76 an hour.

But an analysis The Canadian Press obtained from an undisclosed source suggests that is the case. It breaks down the hourly costs at a Chrysler and Toyota plant like this:

• Base wages are $36.06 at Chrysler and $34.20 at Toyota.
• Benefits, including vacations and overtime, are $31.32 at Chrysler and $16.89 at Toyota.
• Legacy costs are $3.69 at Chrysler and $1.50 at Toyota.
• Taxes and other required payments are $4.93 at Chrysler and $3.50 at Toyota.

CAW economist Jim Stanford disputes the $76 figure, but the company insists that's the cost it is facing.

In a report Wednesday, Stanford concluded the average CAW wage and benefit figure is less than $44 an hour under the deal the union reached with GM Canada.

The CAW wants Chrylser to agree to a similar deal.

But a Chrysler spokeswoman said the $76 figure is the real number. "The $76 all-in labour cost represents the total cost of labour to the company," Mary Gauthier said.

Chrysler executives said last week that the $19-an-hour cut could be reached without touching the base wage.