SAO PAULO, Brazil, April 22 (Reuters) - Metalworkers went on strike indefinitely on Tuesday at a General Motors Corp. plant and a Renault auto factory in Brazil, paralyzing production at both sites.
Some 5,000 workers at GM's Sao Jose dos Campos plant and another 2,500 at Renault's Sao Jose dos Pinhais factory launched the strike to push for higher wages to compensate for rising inflation, union officials said.
In addition to a 10.38 percent wage increase, GM workers are demanding the U.S. automaker cut their work week to 36 hours from 40 hours while creating an "inflation clause" that guarantees a pay raise every time consumer prices jump more than 3 percent. At the Renault plant, union leaders are pushing for a 14.61 percent wage increase from the French automaker.
Officials at both companies confirmed the strikes, but declined further comment.
GM's Sao Jose dos Campos plant produces the Corsa model, the Meriva and Zafira minivans, and the medium-sized S-10 pickup truck. The factory is also used to assemble engines.
The Renault plant produces the Clio sedan model, the Scenic minivan, the Master van and the Nissan Frontier truck, in addition to engines.
Some 640 cars and 1,600 engines are churned out on a daily basis at the GM plant and 340 autos and 900 motors at the Renault factory, the companies said.
GM also has factories on the outskirts of Sao Paulo in Sao Caetano do Sul and in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, but the strike was limited to the Sao Jose plant. In all, the Detroit automaker employs 17,000 people in Brazil.
Union leaders were scheduled to meet with GM officials later on Tuesday in Sao Paulo to try and hammer out a deal, but talks with management at Renault remained on hold, union officials said.
The strike is the second major walkout by factory workers under the new center-left government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, himself a former metalworker and union boss. Lula, who took office on Jan. 1, has distanced himself from the disputes, urging the parties to negotiate a quick solution.
In late March, tens of thousands of metalworkers at more than 80 auto parts plants in the industrial hub of Sao Paulo staged a three-day walkout, but returned to work after winning pay raises to compensate for an inflationary spurt last year.