(Stockholm) Tesla filed a complaint against the Swedish state on Monday through the Swedish Transport Agency, after postal workers on strike in the Scandinavian country interrupted the delivery of license plates for new vehicles manufactured by the manufacturer automobile of texas.
Tesla is not globally unionized, but Swedish workers are demanding that the automaker sign a collective agreement, which most employees in Sweden have. Tesla does not have a manufacturing plant in Sweden, but has several service centers.
Tesla said it was suing “the Swedish state through the Swedish Transport Agency” because not accessing license plates “constitutes an unlawful discriminatory attack against Tesla.”
Mikael Andersson, a spokesman for the agency, told The Associated Press in an email that “we at the Swedish Transport Agency do not share this view” that the agency was blocking the distribution of license plates.
“That is why Tesla has decided to leave the matter to be examined in court, which is their right. »
“We have not yet seen the lawsuit so it is difficult for us to comment directly. We need to look at Tesla’s lawsuit and reasoning,” Andersson said.
According to the lawsuit obtained by The Associated Press, Tesla is demanding that the district court fine the agency one million crowns (C$130,258) to “force” the Swedish Transport Agency to allow Tesla to “recover the license plates” within three days of notification of the district court’s decision.
The lawsuit was filed Monday. Tesla said the agency has a “constitutional obligation to provide license plates to vehicle owners.”
The confiscation of license plates “cannot be described as anything other than a unique attack on a company operating in Sweden.”
On October 27, 130 members of the powerful metalworkers union IF Metall demonstrated at seven workshops across the country where popular electric cars are serviced, demanding a collective agreement.
Swedish mechanics have stopped servicing Tesla cars and several unions, including postal workers, have joined a wave of sympathy for IF Metall’s demands. Stevedores at Sweden’s four largest ports have also stopped deliveries of Tesla vehicles to put more pressure on the automaker.
Last week, Tesla Chairman and CEO Elon Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns, that it was “insane” that Swedish postal workers refused to issue license plates for new vehicles.
IF Metall said earlier that Tesla Sweden had “refused to sign a collective agreement and violated the fundamental principles of the Swedish labor market”. He called these agreements “the backbone of the Swedish model.”
The union also asked consumers to show understanding, saying: “We do this for the sake of our members, to ensure they have safe working conditions. »
