Questions and answers about IF Metall conflict with Tesla

Basically, this is about wages, pensions, and insurances for all our members working at Tesla. They deserve decent and safe working conditions, just like everyone else on the Swedish labor market.

We have been negotiating with Tesla for a long time. They have refused to sign a collective agreement, violating the fundamental principles of the Swedish labor market. Because of this, we have chosen to go on strike.

The strike means a total work stoppage at all Tesla workshops in Sweden.

Tesla is, of course, prominent in the green transition but it needs to ensure the sustainability of its employees. They do this by signing a collective agreement which grants both Tesla and its employees basic security.

A major advantage of collective agreements for employers, in addition to predictability and stability, is that having an agreement attracts talent, and that during the agreement period there is a peace obligation where no one can go on strike for better conditions than those stated in the existing agreement.

Collective agreements are the backbone of the Swedish model, where the relevant parties - unions and employers - negotiate issues relating to pay and conditions at the workplace.

We do not want a situation where some companies gain competitiveness on other, serious, businesses by offering worse conditions than those stipulated in the collective agreement.

The company claim that their conditions are at least as favorable, and even better, without having an agreement.

This is not true. Their insurance scheme is not as good as in the collective agreement, they do not pay as much into the pension scheme and their wages are below the industry average.

The company's employees lack:
• A complete insurance package with Fora.
• The extensive redeployment support available in the main agreement.
• Wages at Tesla are lower than average wages in the Motor Industry Agreement.
• Without a collective agreement, annual wage increases are not guaranteed.
• They do not have the possibility of a part-time pension.
• They do not have reduced working hours.

Tesla Sweden must answer this question.

Defending the right to collective agreements is not only important for IF Metall, but to all trade unions. 

The Swedish labor market is not regulated by laws but by collective agreements between employers and trade unions. It is through collective agreements that we ensure that workers have good working conditions and terms. This is why several trade unions have issued sympathy actions, to secure this model. 

However, we carefully ensure that the sympathy measures are directed only at Tesla, encouraging them to sign a collective agreement. 

See all sympathy actions at ifmetall.se/sympati.

The disappointment should be directed towards the employer who does not respect the basic principles of the Swedish labor market. We hope that the customers will understand that we are doing this for the sake of our members, to ensure that they have safe and fair working conditions.

Of course not. The green transition is vital. However, it is also important that new innovative companies that establish themselves in Sweden follow the principles that exist in the labor market. As most companies do in the Swedish market.

Tesla is a company that contribute to the green transition. We hope that they will provide sustainable conditions for their employees as well.

We negotiate agreements with many of these companies every year. We sign around 200 collective agreements per year, usually without any problems. Occasionally we are forced to take industrial action, as in the case of Tesla. It is the collective agreement model that we are defending in this conflict.

If we do not sign collective agreements, we cannot use our collective influence to defend our members wages and conditions. If that happens, there will be no national agreement negotiations at all. To establish collective agreements is one of the main purposes of our organization.

There is a long list of American companies in Sweden that have collective agreements. 

IF Metall has collective agreements at companies such as Dana (Spicer Nordiska Kardan), Xylem, Union Electric Steel Corp (Åkers), Adient, Philip Morris (Swedish Match), 3M and many, many more. 

Being an international company in Sweden and refusing collective agreements is an exception to the rule. We are convinced that even Tesla will realize that there is no valid reason to maintain such an arbitrary opposition to collective agreements.

It means that employer organizations and trade unions jointly negotiate wages and employment conditions, with regulatory interventions kept at a minimum.

IF Metall and other trade unions in Sweden sign collective agreements with the employer organizations. These agreements regulate issues such as wages, benefits, insurance and other terms and conditions of employment. Collective agreements clarify what wages and other employment conditions apply.

This means that companies without collective agreements place themselves outside the long-accepted rules of the labor market, meaning that the employees of these companies often have worse conditions than those covered by collective agreements. It also means that the companies can alter employment conditions at their own leisure. In addition to significantly less secure conditions for employees, this distorts competition between companies.