The UAW has agreed to make concessions on a health care trust and in a rule requiring the Big Three to continue to pay 95 percent of an employee’s salary even if their plant has closed down entirely.

The contract stipulation has cost GM, Ford and Chrysler millions of dollars and has been blamed for contributing to Detroit’s current economic woes.

The pay arrangement was confirmed by Chrysler chief Robert Nardelli in hearings before Congress last week, when Nardelli confirmed that Chrysler was still responsible for 95% of an employee’s salary, whether the employee’s plant was open or not. Under the plan, called the Jobs Bank, employees receive 95% of their salaries for the rest of their lives if their plant closes. The program was established more than 20 years ago.

None of the companies have revealed just how much they’ve spent on Jobs Bank, but in four-year labor contracts signed in 2003, GM set aside $2.1 billion for the program, Ford $944 million and Chrysler $501 million.