2023-10-27 19:51:06
Stockholm (AFP) – Tesla employees in Sweden walked off the job on Friday to protest the American automaker’s refusal to sign a collective agreement on wages, the IF Metall union announced on Friday.
Published on: 10/27/2023 – 9:51 p.m.
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The strike affects Tesla’s 130 mechanics in seven workshops across Sweden, Jesper Pettersson, spokesperson for the metalworkers’ union, told AFP.
These employees have “lower salaries, do not benefit from the same insurance and have lower pensions” compared to other workers in the industry, he said.
Negotiated sector by sector, collective agreements form the basis of the Swedish labor market model. They cover almost 90% of all Swedish employees and guarantee them minimum salaries and working conditions.
According to IF Metall, which has 300,000 members, these agreements are also beneficial for companies, because they allow them to “operate on an equal footing” in the same field.
“A lot” of Tesla workers are members of IF Metall, Mr. Pettersson explained, without wanting to give an exact figure.
Although they are unionized, Tesla workers do not benefit from sectoral collective agreements because their company has not signed the agreement.
According to Mr. Pettersson, Tesla indicated on Tuesday that it would not sign a collective agreement and the automaker told the union that it “does not do this anywhere in the world.”
Tesla did not respond to requests from AFP.
The American electric car specialist has always rejected calls for unionization among its 127,000 employees worldwide.
Strikers in Sweden will receive financial compensation paid by the union, equivalent to their salary.
If Tesla does not change its position, the strike will extend to all other workshops where Tesla cars are repaired, and not just those where the American firm’s employees are employed.
© 2023 AFP
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