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Swedish court denies Tesla motion over postal dispute as strike spreads across Nordics

A Swedish court denied a motion by Tesla to temporarily force a mail carrier to deliver licence plates, despite joining strike action against the electric carmaker.

Published: 8 December 2023 07:12 CET
Swedish court denies Tesla motion over postal dispute as strike spreads across Nordics
Swedish mechanics have been striking at Tesla since October. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

Since October 27th, some 130 mechanics at 10 Tesla repair shops in seven Swedish cities have been striking to protest against the carmaker’s refusal to sign a collective agreement with the metalworkers union IF Metall.

The strike has since grown into a larger conflict between Tesla and almost a dozen unions seeking to protect Sweden’s labour model, including postal workers.

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”.

In late November, Tesla filed lawsuits against the Swedish Transport Agency and mail carrier Postnord, which is owned by the Swedish and Danish states, to compel them to hand over licence plates and mail to the carmaker.

Tesla also asked the court to force Postnord to hand over some deliveries, including licence plates, while the case was pending.

“Very specific conditions are required to make such a decision and that requirement is not met,” judge Patrik Alm of the Solna district court said in a statement.

Tesla originally saw some success with its lawsuits as a separate district court issued a provisional ruling last week that the transport agency should allow Tesla to pick up licence plates directly from the manufacturer.

The ruling was however appealed, with the appellate court on Tuesday suspending the district court’s decision.

Tesla 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.

Some 50,000 Teslas are registered in the country of 10.5 million inhabitants.

This week, the strike also started spreading to neighbouring countries and on Thursday the Finnish transport workers union AKT announced it would start blocking the loading of Tesla cars onto ships bound for Swedish ports, starting December 20.

“It is a crucial part of the Nordic labour market model that we have collective agreements and unions support each other,” Ismo Kokko, president of AKT, said in a statement.

The move comes after similar announcements by unions in Denmark and Norway earlier in the week.

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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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