Ford Motor Co. and Unifor, the autoworkers' union in Canada, have reached a tentative contract agreement aimed at averting a collective strike among the 5,600 members at Ford plants in Canada.

Unifor said the agreement temporarily resolves issues that members intend to raise in negotiations and further solidifies the union's continued fight for the interests of Canadian auto workers. In response, Ford stated that in order to maintain the integrity of the approval process, it would not comment on the negotiations and agreement for the time being.