Swedish car mechanics employed by Tesla have been on strike for weeks to force the automaker to join the collective labor agreement in the automotive industry. The strike was started by the metal union, but nine other unions are now participating in the action in solidarity.
The union for postal workers, SEKO, has also been showing solidarity for a week now. The association has asked its members who work at the Swedish postal company Postnord to no longer deliver packages and other mail to Tesla. Because Postnord transports new license plates on behalf of the Swedish transport agency Transportstyrelsen, the automaker no longer receives them.
“Madness,” Elon Musk wrote on X last week. Tesla described the blockade as a “unique action” against a company operating in Sweden. “This unprecedented action has made the Swedish Transport Agency a very damaging instrument in the labor market conflict,” the automaker said in the complaint.
License plate blockade
In an interim ruling, the judge agrees with Tesla. Transportstyrelsen must allow the automaker to collect the license plates from the manufacturer within seven days. The transport company previously said it was contractually obliged to deliver the license plates via Postnord.
The license plate blockade was a small boost for the Swedish unions in a so far unsuccessful strike. Not all Tesla employees in Sweden participate, and many of the service stations are still in use. However, without new license plates, it would be impossible for Tesla to serve new customers.
In the complaint against the national postal company, Tesla called the issue “a system-threatening action by Postnord”. The company’s management stated that the right to strike is constitutionally protected in Sweden. And that it can therefore be seen as force majeure that employees do not receive the packages with license plates.
Union country
The unions have spoken with Tesla several times in recent years about joining a collective labor agreement, but no concrete steps were taken. Billionaire Musk’s company has long resisted attempts in the United States and Germany to unionize Tesla employees and make collective agreements. Especially in Sweden, where 90 percent of employees are covered by a collective labor agreement, this clashes with a long tradition. Relatively many workers are members of a trade union, which has great influence on the workplace.
In a response, the transport agency says it is considering the ruling. “It is currently too early to say what exactly it will mean,” Vehicle Director Anna Berggrund told public broadcaster SVT. According to Tesla’s lawyer, it is clear what will happen, he told the newspaper The evening paper. If the license plates are not available within seven days, a fine of 90,000 euros will follow.
2023-11-27 15:32:36
#Tesla #wins #case #Swedish #state #blocking #license #plates
