Sweden’s transport workers’ union announced on Wednesday that it will no longer collect trash from Tesla workshops in the Scandinavian country from December 24 in solidarity with other workers protesting against the Elon Musk-led company, Reuters reported.
The electric car maker is at the center of a dispute with unions in the Nordic country after it refused to sign a collective agreement and other terms demanded by its mechanics in Sweden. Tesla has no factories in Sweden, but several mechanics work in service workshops.
Since October 27, about 130 mechanics at 10 Tesla repair shops in seven cities in Sweden have gone on strike to protest the company’s refusal to sign the collective labor agreement that underpins the Swedish social model.
Members of other unions, including dock workers, electricians, maids and postal workers, have since taken solidarity action. The action will now be joined by the Transport Workers’ Union, which also represents Swedish garbage collectors, according to a statement released Wednesday by union president Tommy Writ.
“Such solidarity actions are very rare. We are now using this to sell Swedish collective agreements and the security of the Swedish labor market model,” he noted.
Tesla says it does not accept collective bargaining agreements as demanded by its employees in Sweden
Witt said the protest against Tesla will begin on December 24 if the automaker does not sign a collective agreement with IF Metall, which represents the company’s Swedish mechanics, by then.
After a protest engulfed postal workers last month, Tesla sued Postnord, Sweden’s state-owned postal service, to get the license plates of its cars confiscated in the Scandinavian country.
Although it prevailed in the first ruling handed down on November 27, Tesla’s appeal was dismissed a few days later by Sweden’s highest court.
Tesla maintains a policy of not signing collective agreements and says its workers have conditions equal to or even better than those demanded by IF Metall. The union says it is vital to the Swedish labor market model that all companies have collective agreements.
Collective agreements with trade unions are the basis of the Swedish social model, which covers almost 90% of all employees and guarantees wages and working conditions.
Source: Hot News
Lori Barajas is an accomplished journalist, known for her insightful and thought-provoking writing on economy. She currently works as a writer at 247 news reel. With a passion for understanding the economy, Lori’s writing delves deep into the financial issues that matter most, providing readers with a unique perspective on current events.