WASHINGTON- Business and Union leaders reached a tentative agreement on a temporary visa program for foreign workers, paving the way for the U.S. Senate to be able to introduce a immigration reform bill in April.

The New York Times and Politico were the first to report the agreement yesterday, which occurred late Friday through the mediation of Democratic Senator Charles Schumer, one of eight members of the bipartisan group of lawmakers that is working on the immigration reform bill.

Schumer on Friday requested a conference call to the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Thomas Donohue, and the largest federation of unions in the country (AFL-CIO), Richard Trumka, and from there is where the initial agreement came out of for the "guest workers" programs for low-skilled jobs.

Previously, the differences between employers and unions on this program were stalling the negotiations in the Senate on immigration reform and were threatening the introduction of this bill in April.

The tentative agreement resolves the disputes that existed on wage levels to be applied to immigrants who arrive in the country with these temporary visas. It has also been established which industries will be out of the "guest workers" program, although details were not disclosed.

Businessmen had pushed to include 400,000 visas annually under this program, but the unions wanted a much lower number, due to a possible negative impact on the wages and benefits of American workers. After the Senate evaluated this proposal, it established that there would be a limit of 200,000 visas annually, with a figure of 20,000 in the first year that could increase up to 75,000 in 2020, according to a publication yesterday by The Washington Post.

It is expected that the eight senators, including Schumer, will sign the agreement on the "guest workers" program in the coming days.

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omar.martinez@sandiegored.com