Renault’s largest union is recommending its members accept the automaker’s productivity proposals, although the remaining labour bodies have yet to follow suit.

The CFE-CGC union represents a fraction less than 30% of Renault’s workforce – the percentage figure the manufacturer needs to secure backing for its new contract – although the automaker is seeking a far higher acceptance rate.

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Should any final deal be inked, Renault says production volumes will be increased for domestic plants and no factory closures will take place in France, in exchange for more productivity, a salary freeze and 7,500 redundancies.

“The CFE-CGC teams in Renault factories and subsidiaries agreed by a large majority to sign up to the agreement,” a union statement emailed to just-auto said. “The CFE-CGC, number one Renault union, will assume its responsibilities with regard to the workers and commits itself to a decisive deal for the future of Renault and the automobile sector in France.

“In the agreement, the CFE-CGC stood up for several major points: maintaining all industrial sites; guaranteeing volumes; keeping the core of engineering jobs to ensure the autonomy of Renault brand development; abandoning the arbitrary framework of wage increases across three years and improving the quality of life at work.”

The union will now undertake what it refers to as a “normal validation process” for the text of the agreement and says inking the deal will allow it to apply the weight of its 29.7% membership next to Renault CEO, Carlos Ghosn’s signature.

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Last week, one of Renault’s other major labour bodies, the CFDT, said if approved, the deal would see all sites move from the 2012 annual production of 530,000 vehicles per year or 60% of capacity to 710,000 models by 2016, representing 85%, the break-even threshold.

Beyond that, it claims the manufacturer will aim for 820,000 cars per year.