Automotive News Europe — 2023-12-07
Automotive Industry
Norway's largest private sector labor union said it will block transit shipments of Tesla cars meant for the Swedish market, as part of a growing Nordic movement to support striking mechanics in Sweden.
In a separate development, PensionDanmark, one of Denmark's largest pension funds, said it had decided to sell its holdings in Tesla over the EV maker's refusal to enter into agreements with labor unions.
Swedish unions led by IF Metall have taken industrial action against Tesla since October to try to force the company to sign collective bargaining agreements with mechanics.
Dockworkers in Sweden already refuse to unload Tesla cars arriving by ship, and broad groups of Swedish electricians, cleaners, postal workers and at least one supplier also said they would deny the company their services.
Norwegian union Fellesforbundet said it intended to send a "clear signal to Tesla" and do what was necessary to ensure that any vehicle shipments via Norway to Sweden were blocked, but declined to say exactly which measures it might take.
"The right to demand a collective agreement is an obvious part of our working life and we can't accept that Tesla places itself on the outside," Fellesforbundet leader Joern Eggum said in a statement.
The Norwegian union's actions would begin on 20 December.
Tesla has a policy of not agreeing to collective bargaining and says its employees have as good or better terms than those the Swedish union is demanding.
But Nordic labor unions say Tesla's refusal to play by long-established norms in the region challenge their power and workers' rights to negotiate wages, vacation, overtime pay and other conditions.
On 5 December, Denmark's 3F labor union also said it would support the Swedish mechanics by refusing to unload or transport cars made by Tesla for customers in Sweden.
The Norwegian and Danish unions said their actions would only affect cars that are meant for the Swedish market.
Exclusion list
PensionDanmark criticized Tesla's stance.
"In the light of the conflict now spreading to Denmark as well as Tesla's recent very categorical refusal to enter a labor union agreement in any country, we have come to the conclusion that we as investors at present hardly can influence the company," the pension fund said in a statement.
"That is why we're now putting Tesla on our exclusion list," it said.
PensionDanmark, which manages pensions for 823,000 Danes, has 317.3 billion Danish crowns ($45.81 billion) under asset management. The fund did not say how big its holdings in Tesla are.