Swedish trade unions and Tesla have been in negotiations for a collective agreement for several months. Though the unions have been on strike since October, Tesla has refused to accept their terms, and Elon Musk reportedly prohibited the Swedish branch from reaching an agreement with the unions.
A strike organized by Metall IF, a Swedish steelworkers’ trade union, has impeded members from working at any Tesla branch since October. Metall IF and other unions take issue with the lack of a collective agreement between them and Tesla Sweden. The mediator in negotiations told a Swedish publication on Tuesday that Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla) has prohibited Tesla from reaching any collective agreement with Swedish workers.
Metall IF announced the workers’ strike against Tesla Sweden on the 17th of October. It came as a result of the lack of collective agreement between the union and Tesla Sweden. The strike covers 10 Tesla facilities in Sweden.
The strike began because Tesla “could gain competitive advantages by giving employees worse conditions than they would have with a collective agreement,” says IF Metall’s contract secretary Veli-Pekka Säikkälä. No collective agreement was reached as a result of the announcement, so the strike officially began on the 27th of October.
Since the initial strike, a number of entities have joined in solidarity with IF Metall. On November 7th, the Swedish electricians’ union joined the strike against Tesla Sweden in solidarity. A number of unions from the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) joined in the strike on November 8. Metall IF reported that several car-related companies had taken measures against Tesla, by refusing to include Tesla cars in their services.
Despite the extent of the measures taken against Tesla, Metall IF reported they have not shown interest in reaching a collective agreement.
“Tesla made it clear that they will do whatever it takes to keep the business going. It is therefore about organized strike-breaking by the company,” said IF Metall’s contract secretary Veli-Pekka Säikkälä on November 6th.
IF Metall and LO have communicated clearly that they will continue to expand the conflict until a collective agreement is signed. LO also said they will prioritize a collective agreement over Tesla’s remaining in the country.
“We want [Tesla] to sign a collective agreement,” says LO’s press release. “Should they choose a different path, there is certainly a market for Tesla car repairs in Swedish workshops that follow Swedish labor market rules.”
On Tuesday, Swedish media outlet Dagens Industri reported a statement by the legal mediator between the unions and Tesla, Kurt Eriksson. Eriksson said that Elon Musk made it clear that Tesla will not sign any collective agreement.
To a post on X (ex-Twitter) about sympathy measures taken against Tesla, Elon Musk replied “this is insane.”
Tesla Sweden’s press department has not answered Newsendip’s questions regarding the status of the negotiations at the time of writing the article.
