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Northwest Airlines and its striking mechanics union have agreed to resume negotiations on a new contract, the union said on Thursday.

The mechanics, who are represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), went on strike on August 20 last year after earlier contract negotiations failed. Northwest continued flying by using replacement labor.

A bargaining session is scheduled for August 15, the union said in a statement.

A Northwest spokesman said the union had asked it to resume negotiations and the airline agreed, consistent with its legal obligations.

«It is premature to speculate on the outcome of scheduled talks with AMFA,» spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said. «However, any potential settlement would have no impact on our current mechanic workforce.»

Northwest, which filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors in September, is looking for total annual savings of USD$2.5 billion, including about USD$1.4 billion in labor cost cuts, before it emerges from bankruptcy.

It has already reached agreements with its other labor groups for those savings, and it imposed terms on the mechanics after they went on strike.

So its cost saving target will not be affected by the outcome of the negotiations, Ebenhoch said.

Neither side has set any conditions to resume talks, the union said. The two sides have not met for talks since November last year.

«We welcome the resumption of face-to-face discussions,» union spokesman Jeff Mathews said in a statement. «The timing is appropriate because, as of July, we are now the last labor group with an unsettled contract.»

(Reuters)