Port workers in Sweden are threatening to block deliveries of new Tesla electric cars through a mass strike, the world’s news agencies report. This is the most serious labor dispute that Elon Musk’s company has faced in Europe.
The Swedish Transport Workers’ Union, which represents 57,000 workers in the transport industry, is threatening a lockout, which is scheduled to start on November 7.
If their plan is carried out, tomorrow”no Tesla will be able to enter Sweden” said union president Tommy Urritt, quoted by Wired.
Tesla electric cars are delivered to Sweden through four ports – Malmö, Gothenburg, Trelleborg and Södertelle.
Port officials do not work directly for the EV company. However, the members of the union are threatening the blockade in support of the workers in the Swedish Tesla workshops, who have been on strike for a week. They walked off the job in protest at the company’s refusal to sign a collective agreement with the union that represents them, IF Metall.
Tesla wiped $100 billion in market cap in one day and Musk had a hand in it
Some publications called the situation a mini-disaster
In Sweden, collective agreements regulate the relationship between employers and their employees, including pay conditions, pensions, working conditions and other benefits. It is not mandatory for a company to sign a collective agreement, but around 90 percent of Swedish employees are covered by these arrangements.
EU gives €134 million to Tesla. Part of the money will come to Bulgaria
The money is for the creation of 6,458 charging stations in 613 locations in 16 countries
Workers at the seven Swedish workshops servicing Tesla electric cars earn less and do not have the same pensions and insurance as other mechanics in the industry, unionists say.
Sweden is Tesla’s fifth-largest market in Europe this year, with 16,309 new cars registered in the first nine months, according to Bloomberg data. The Scandinavian country is not the only country to accuse the company of violating labor laws and conventions.
Tesla workers in the US have made several unsuccessful attempts to unionize. In April, the US National Labor Relations Board ruled that the company violated local labor laws by telling employees not to discuss pay and other working conditions.
The IG Metall union in Germany has also raised concerns about safety and overwork at the carmaker’s only European Gigafactory, near Berlin.
Erdogan offered Musk to build a Tesla factory in Turkey
The meeting took place in New York
Tags: Tesla stop delivering cars Sweden
-
