Members of the Swedish Transport Workers Union have also suspended work for Tesla in support of a strike by Swedish employees

On November 6th, it was reported that Tesla's mechanics in Sweden are on strike, demanding that the American automaker accept a collective labor agreement. And the dock workers also stated that they will support the demands of the mechanics

On November 6th, it was reported that Tesla's mechanics in Sweden are on strike, demanding that the American automaker accept a collective labor agreement. And the dock workers also stated that they will support the demands of the mechanics. Tesla is expected to join the negotiations on Monday local time.

Tesla does not produce cars in Sweden, which is also a relatively small market for the automaker, but a strike by dozens of mechanics is causing great attention. Port workers from Sweden's four largest ports have stated that they will stop unloading Tesla cars from ships on Tuesday in support of the strikers.

For many years, the Swedish union IFMetall has been calling on Tesla to negotiate a collective agreement that will increase wages and benefits for approximately 120 mechanics hired by Tesla. These mechanics work at Tesla's service facility in Sweden. About 90% of Swedish workers are covered by such agreements.

Since the union called for a strike on October 27th, dozens of Tesla mechanics affiliated with the union have been staying at home, causing many Tesla car owners to find themselves in trouble when seeking help. IFMetall spokesperson Jesper Pettersson said that not all union members participated, and some Tesla service facilities were not significantly affected. He added, "Strikes are not an easy task either

However, this strike action, combined with other union threats to join, seems to be enough to force Tesla back to the negotiating table. Patterson said that representatives from the union and Tesla are scheduled to hold a meeting on Monday.

According to data from the World Resources Institute, despite its relatively small land area, Sweden's electric vehicle sales account for as much as 32% of the total new car sales, ranking third in the world, second only to Norway and Iceland. Tesla has an increasing number of fans in the country, and its ModelYSUV produced in Germany has become Sweden's best-selling electric vehicle this year.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been resisting Tesla workers' efforts to form a union for many years and threatened to punish American employees seeking to join the union in 2018.

German Bender, a labor market analyst at Arena, a Stockholm think tank, said Tesla may "believe that this minor conflict in Sweden poses a risk of spreading to other markets".

In Germany, the IGMetall union, which belongs to IFMetall in Sweden, has also been seeking to form a union among employees at Tesla's Berlin factory.

In the United States, after a six-week strike against Detroit's three major automakers, workers belonging to the United Auto Workers (UAW) have significantly improved their wages and benefits. Nowadays, union leaders are turning their attention to Tesla's American workers in order to form unions in factories across the United States that still do not have unions.

In Sweden, the power of trade unions is considerable. Approximately 70% of the workforce in Sweden belongs to unions, and Swedish law allows for solidarity strikes to support the efforts of other unions.

In support of IFMetall's Tesla mechanics, the Swedish Transport Workers' Union stated that starting at noon on Tuesday, dock workers will no longer unload Tesla cars from ships. When IFMetall seeks support from the transportation sector, we are willing to provide assistance in supporting collective agreements and the Swedish labor market model, which is very important, "the agency said

IFMetall spokesperson Patterson said that we have not sought support from any other unions until the negotiation results on Monday are available. Sweden relies on collective agreements reached between employers and unions in each industrial sector to establish basic employment terms.

The union stated that under the agreement IFMetall is seeking, Tesla workers will receive a broader insurance plan to ensure they receive training to transition to another job in the event of layoffs, and will receive an annual salary increase. Even workers who do not belong to trade unions are protected by collective agreements.

Foreign companies are not the only ones unwilling to support Sweden's century old collective bargaining agreement model. Some local companies, such as the buy and pay giant Klarna and streaming provider Spotify, have already raised objections to this, citing the need to maintain sufficient flexibility and agility in the rapidly changing technology industry.

After eight months of negotiations, two unions representing Klarna employees have threatened to strike next week. The company stated that they reached an agreement late last Friday to avoid a strike. (Small)