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Swedish court orders transport agency to let Tesla collect number plates

A Swedish court ruled in favour of Tesla in a provisional decision over a strike by postal workers blocking deliveries of licence plates for its new cars.

Published: 28 November 2023 06:58 CET
Swedish court orders transport agency to let Tesla collect number plates
Mechanics began to strike at Tesla in late October, and several other unions have joined since. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Tesla is currently facing strikes on multiple fronts in Sweden over its refusal to sign a collective wage agreement for its mechanics.

On November 20th, Swedish postal workers joined in and began halting deliveries to Tesla offices and repair shops.

As licence plates for new cars are only delivered by mail in Sweden, the blockade could stop new Teslas hitting the road there, something Tesla CEO Elon Musk branded “insane”.

Musk has long rejected calls to allow the company’s 127,000 employees worldwide to unionise.

However, collective agreements with unions are the basis of the Swedish labour market model, covering almost 90 percent of all employees and guaranteeing wages and working conditions.

Tesla has asked the courts to compel the Swedish Transport Agency to make sure plates for vehicles registered with the agency “come into Tesla’s possession”.

Tesla also asked the court to impose a fine of one million kronor ($96,000) if the Swedish Transport Agency fails to comply.

There was some good news for Tesla late Monday when the transport agency said it had received a “provisional” court ruling requiring it to agree, within seven days, to Tesla collecting its number plates directly from the plate manufacturer.

“Our plate manufacturer has announced that it is prepared to supply the plates directly to Tesla, provided that the Swedish Transport Agency agrees,” added the public agency in a message to AFP, adding that it was assessing the consequences of this court ruling.

The agency told AFP last week that it was only able to deliver the plates via postal carrier Postnord, as it was bound to use it under a contract that applies to all government agencies.

In a separate suit, Tesla wants the courts to compel Postnord, which is owned by the Swedish and Danish states, to hand over all deliveries addressed to Tesla.

Some 130 mechanics at 10 Tesla repair shops in seven cities across Sweden walked off the job on October 27th, according to trade union IF Metall.

The strike has since expanded to include other repair shops that service Tesla. Dock workers have also stopped unloading Tesla cars at Swedish ports.

In addition to IF Metall, nine other unions have announced “sympathy measures”.

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STRIKES

Swedish healthcare strike: What nurses and midwives’ overtime ban means for you

A nationwide healthcare strike involving tens of thousands of Swedish nurses and midwives got under way on Thursday afternoon, after negotiations about salaries and rotas broke down.

Published: 25 April 2024 16:08 CEST
Swedish healthcare strike: What nurses and midwives' overtime ban means for you

The industrial action, launched by the Swedish Association of Health Professionals, kicked off at 4pm on Thursday.

The union represents nurses, midwives, biomedical scientists and radiographers.

Up to 63,000 union members are affected by the strike, which means that they are to refuse to work overtime or extra shifts, and that employers may not hire new staff as long as the action is ongoing.

EXPLAINED:

Managers are exempt from the strike.

“We haven’t had any unreasonable expectations. We want to be able to have the energy to work full time, we want sustainable schedules and four weeks of continuous vacation in summer. We want higher wages so that it’s equal,” union chair Sineva Ribeiro said earlier this month.

“During the pandemic we were called superheroes and went to work on our days off to save lives. We were applauded then, but today we have to choose between falling ill ourselves or reducing our hours to part time to be able to cope. At the end of the day, patients take the hit,” she added.

She said the workers they represent in total worked 3 million hours in overtime last year.

But negotiations with SKR (the umbrella organisation for Swedish regions) and employer organisation Sobona have failed to bring the parties closer together. Late on Wednesday the union and SKR and Sobona again rejected each other’s proposals and counter proposals.

Healthcare services are generally urging patients to turn up to scheduled appointments (although as healthcare is managed on a regional basis in Sweden, it may make sense to check with your healthcare provider), but warn that surgeries may have to be cancelled.

“There’s a risk that we will have to reduce our capacity for planned surgeries and you will be informed if your surgery is affected,” Region Sörmland writes on its website.

“We prioritise emergencies and healthcare that cannot wait without risking life or long-term health,” Region Halland’s healthcare director Martin Engström writes in a statement.

Region Kronoberg and Blekinge meanwhile warn of longer waiting times for test results.

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