Unions step up pressure on Tesla

Swedish unions have taken further action against US electric vehicle maker Tesla to pressure the company to sign a collective agreement in a key test for the Swedish industrial relations system.

Tesla has 11 service centres across the country and workers in the IF Metall union have been on strike since 27 October to press the company to sign up to the agreement for the motor industry.

Tesla has refused to do so, with CEO Elon Musk hostile to any union involvement. In an interview on 30 November, he said: “I disagree with the idea of unions”. In response, IF Metall has successfully called for support from other unions, and their actions have had a major impact.

Early in the dispute, the transport union blocked the movement of Tesla vehicles through Swedish ports as well as cleaning inside the service centres. And from 24 December it ceased collecting waste.

Postal workers have prevented delivery of registration plates to Tesla, and the company lost an appeal court case where it was asking to be able to pick up the plates itself, although litigation is continuing.

Sympathy action has extended beyond Sweden, with port workers in Denmark, Norway and Finland also refusing to handle Tesla cars.

The issue is crucial for unions in all the Nordic countries, whose industrial relations systems rely on high levels of collective bargaining coverage — something which is threatened by Tesla’s refusal to negotiate.