Tesla dodged a strike in Sweden on October 27 at its service centers after employees refused a walkout proposed by local trade union IF Metall.
IF Metall had announced a strike initiated by its members at Tesla Service centers across Sweden, citing the carmaker’s refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement as the reason behind the action.
“This conflict is about our members’ wages, pensions, and insurances. And in the end, it is about the playing rules on the Swedish labor market,” IF Metall’s head of collective agreements, Veli-Pekka Saikkala, said.
The union had stated that about 120 Tesla mechanics would walk off the job on Friday, which could have been potentially disruptive for Tesla‘s operations in Sweden.
However, the EV maker’s Swedish workforce did not adhere to the strike call and Friday saw very little participation in IF Metall’s action. According to industry observers cited by local media reports, the planned walkout was virtually unattended.
Despite IF Metall’s strike call, vehicles were still being repaired at Tesla Service centers, and customers were still dropping off and picking up their vehicles as usual. Furthermore, no bookings had to be rescheduled as a result of the strike, Tesla Club Sweden reported (via Teslarati) after visiting Tesla’s Infra City site.
The outlet asked Tesla’s employees why they didn’t join the planned walkout, and some of them reportedly said the working conditions and wages surpassed those of their previous workplaces so they did not see the need to strike.
One employee noted that Tesla also provides stock options, which helped him buy his first apartment, while another pointed out that the median age of Tesla’s workforce is lower than average and that working conditions are better than what this age group normally gets at other workshops. He also said that there’s low staff turnover due to strong strong cohesion and well-being in the workplace.
Interestingly, the employees who explained why they didn’t join the walkout wished to remain anonymous due to concerns about potential repercussions – from the union, not Tesla.
Overall, only a small number of union members across the country chose to take part in the strike, with most IF Metall members employed at Tesla Sweden opting to stay at work.