The United Auto Workers and General Motors announced on Wednesday that negotiators reached a tentative contract agreement including both a health care trust fund and job security provisions.

The strike, the first such action against GM in 37 years, was launched, according to UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, over issues of job security, not the much debated matters of health care and retiree benefits.

The agreement, which would be in force for four years, includes both a trust fund for health care and broad assurances of job security for UAW workers in the United States.

No further details of the agreement were released, but Gettelfinger indicated the trust would be sufficiently funded to operate in a solvent condition for a minimum of 80 years.

Apparently the contract makes provisions for a signing bonus and would make it possible for temporary employees to change to permanent status at their current $18 per hour wage. Senior production workers earn approximately $28 an hour.

The new contract requires court approval and must be subjected to a review by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Gettelfinger ended the two-day strike, which effected some 80 General Motors facilities in North America. Some workers reported for the morning shift while others were scheduled to return to work in the afternoon.

General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner, in a statement issued around 4 a.m., said, "This agreement helps us close the fundamental competitive gaps that exist in our business. The projected competitive improvements in this agreement will allow us to maintain a strong manufacturing presence in the United States along with significant future investments."