Swedish Tesla mechanics could walk off the job on October 27 unless the automaker and the union agree on a collective wage agreement.
The potential strike is over Tesla’s refusal to sign a collective agreement with the IF Metall union members who represent auto mechanics.
If an agreement is not reached the IF Metall strike would affect 120 mechanics at seven workshops across Sweden. However, we should note that not all Tesla mechanics in Sweden are part of the IF Metall union. It is not clear if job action would affect non-union mechanics at this time.
In a statement obtained by TechXplore, IF Metall noted:
Over a long period of time, we have attempted to discuss with Tesla the signing of a collective agreement without success. Now we see no solution other than to take industrial action… Even though we have called for industrial action, it is our sincere hope that Tesla will begin to negotiate and sign a collective agreement for their employees in Sweden.
In Sweden, collective agreements are the norm across the Swedish labour market. These collective agreements cover almost 90 per cent of the workforce and allow workers to have standard wages and working conditions across companies.
Tesla has yet to comment on the potential strike action by the mechanics.
