Tesla is facing increased pressure to sign a collective bargaining agreement in Sweden as another Nordic country has joined the growing labour movement against the automaker. The company has also faced a legal setback in Sweden after a court withdrew a temporary injunction that allowed Tesla to receive license plates for new owners.
On Wednesday Norway’s United Federation of Trade Unions said its workers will start blocking Tesla shipments heading to Sweden starting on December 20, 2023, giving the automaker two weeks to sign a collective bargaining agreement. The announcement comes just one day after Denmark’s United Federation of Workers also declared solidarity with their Swedish counterparts with dock workers and drivers refusing to receive and transport Tesla cars bound for Sweden.
“The right to collective bargaining agreements is a natural part of the labor market in the Nordics and we cannot accept that Tesla stands outside of this system,” Jorn Eggum, president of the United Federation of Trade Unions, told Bloomberg.
The move by Norway isn’t Tesla’s only concern this week. On Tuesday, a temporary injunction that previously allowed the company to receive new license plates was withdrawn by a Swedish appeals court. This decision complicates Tesla’s legal battle with the Transport Agency, as the case will undergo further review by the appeals court before a final ruling is reached.
All of this started with the IF Metall union in Sweden, which reportedly covers 130 staff members at Tesla’s Service Centers across the country. With Tesla refusing to sign a collective agreement, the solidarity movement has expanded to include postal workers, dockworkers, and now workers in two other countries. Despite the ongoing effort to strong arm Tesla into an agreement, employees in Sweden have started voicing their concerns, saying they are “disappointed” and are generally critical of the union.
Elon Musk has also voiced his concerns, calling the growing labour movement against Tesla “insane.”
