General Motors and the Canadian Auto Workers have been given until the end of the month to hash out a new cost savings plan that would see the struggling automaker receive funding from the federal and Ontario governments.

Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement made the announcement on Tuesday as GM and the CAW continued to negotiate at a Toronto hotel, three days after a previous deadline expired.

Speaking from a biotechnology conference in Atlanta, Clement said the new deadline for GM's restructuring plan, including a new deal with the CAW, is now May 31.

"GM is a very complex situation involving a multitude of countries and we are trying to exhibit as much patience as possible from Canada's perspective, though there are certain things that have to happen in order for there to be a deal."

CAW boss Ken Lewenza said Tuesday that government officials have given him a clear message in regards to the talks.

"They said get it done," he told CTV Toronto on Tuesday. "They clearly said the government will pull away if there isn't a deal between the two most important stakeholders -- and that's our members and that's General Motors."

Earlier in the day, the concession talks were described as "intense" and "frustrating," according to union leader Chris Buckley, the president of CAW Local 222.

Every time we feel like we're within reach, the government says we haven't done enough and we need to go deeper," he told CTV Toronto. "It's very frustrating."

Progress at the bargaining table has been slow but Buckley said both sides are committed to finding a solution that will convince federal and Ontario governments to give GM a $6-billion bailout loan for the company's restructuring.

"The government has got some significant demands on our active workers, significant demands on our retirees and it's very frustrating because our workers didn't create this crisis we're in," Buckley said. "We've always been committed to being part of the solution."

Earlier Tuesday, the former national president of the CAW said he believes GM will file for bankruptcy protection no matter what.

"That appears to be where we're heading and the courts will have to decide what happens," Buzz Hargrove said.

The government has agreed to let the talks continue and have worked behind the scenes in an effort to help the company broker a deal with its workers.

Clement was supposed to travel to Washington D.C. today to discuss the new deal with officials in the U.S. but postponed his trip until a new deal has been made.

But both sides agree that a deal is far from imminent.

The two sides did reach a cost-saving agreement in March that would have reduced total labour compensation by $7 per hour, or about 10 per cent. However, both the federal and Ontario governments said the terms did not go far enough and sent the two sides back to the bargaining table.

Lewenza said that a deal still needs to be reached around wages and benefits, as well as a $7 billion shortfall in the company's pension fund.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney