Tesla’s labour dispute sparks strikes across the Nordic region

Numerous unions in the Nordic region have become involved in the labour dispute between Tesla and Swedish trade union IF Metall, calling on the automaker to sign a collective bargaining agreement.

A strike by around 130 workers affiliated with IF Metall on October 27 has sparked sympathy strikes from dockworkers, cleaners, and car dealerships. Sympathy strikes are generally legal in Nordic countries, unlike the US where such actions are largely prohibited.

Tesla’s Model Y is the most sold new car this year in Sweden, where Tesla’s Model Y is the most sold new car so far this year. In November, Sweden’s transport workers’ union pledged to block loading and unloading of Tesla cars across the country’s ports.

Dockworkers’ union also said it would not handle Tesla cars in Swedish harbors from November 17. Seko, which represents service and communications workers, started a blockade against delivery and collection of mail and parcels at Tesla’s Swedish workplaces by logistics firms PostNord and CityMail, cutting Tesla’s access to license plates from the country’s transport authority.

The building maintenance workers’ union halted all work related to the automaker from November 17, while a building workers’ union pledged to halt maintenance and construction work at Tesla service workshops.

Unionised workers at Hydro Extrusions, a subsidiary of Norwegian aluminium and energy company Hydro, stopped work on Tesla car products from November 24. Some Swedish pension funds have urged Tesla to sign an agreement with the union, but so far held off selling shares. Norway’s largest private sector labour union said it would start blocking transit shipments of Tesla cars meant for the Swedish market from December 20 unless the EV-maker reaches an agreement with IF Metall.