EVwire brief: Tesla has secured a second legal victory against Swedish union IF Metall, after the Labour Court ruled in favor of the automaker's local subsidiary TM Sweden over a dispute involving its Uppsala operations.
Instead of receiving the 100,000 Swedish kronor ($10,700) in damages it requested in the Uppsala case, IF Metall was ordered to pay 527,500 kronor ($56,450) in Tesla’s legal costs.
The case centered on whether Tesla violated Sweden’s Co-Determination Act (MBL) by allegedly failing to provide sufficient operational information related to facilities in Malmö and Uppsala.
According to Lag & Avtal, the union accused Tesla of violating its obligations under the MBL by not fully answering a questionnaire related to the company’s business activities in Uppsala.
Tesla argued that Swedish law only requires employers to provide general ongoing information about operations and that it was not obligated to respond to every detailed request submitted by the union.
The Labour Court sided with Tesla, following a similar ruling earlier involving the company’s Malmö facility.
Hat tip to EVwire friend Anders Nyman, who shared this story on X:
Context:
The ruling marks Tesla’s second straight Labour Court win against IF Metall in recent months, following an earlier case tied to the company’s Malmö operations.
IF Metall had requested 75,000 kronor ($8,000) in damages in the Malmö case, but ended up paying 300,000 kronor ($32,100) to cover Tesla Sweden’s legal expenses instead.
The legal battle is part of the broader conflict between Tesla and IF Metall that began on October 27, 2023, after the union launched strikes aimed at pressuring the automaker into signing a Swedish collective bargaining agreement.
Unions have been working to block the Supercharger network’s expansion in Sweden due to IF Metall’s conflict with Tesla
The standoff has become Sweden’s longest ongoing strike in roughly 100 years.
Tesla has continued operating in Sweden despite coordinated sympathy actions from multiple unions, including dockworkers, postal workers, and the electricians union.
The company has maintained that it does not intend to sign a local collective agreement, instead relying on its existing global employment structure.
Source: Lag & Avtal, Dagens Industri
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