After nearly three years of industrial action, Swedish trade union IF Metall is ending its strike against Tesla after the company bought out all remaining striking union members.

With no striking members left at the company, the industrial action can no longer have an effect and IF Metall has therefore decided to bring the dispute to an end.

The outcome demonstrates the extraordinary lengths Tesla is prepared to go to in order to avoid signing a collective agreement.

“We can conclude that Tesla is so strongly opposed to collective bargaining agreements that it would rather buy out employees who are union members than provide them with secure working conditions. This is unprecedented in the Swedish labour market, as is Tesla’s systematic use of strikebreakers.”

According to IF Metall, Tesla has used methods that have effectively been absent from the Swedish labour market since the 1930s. The dispute has never taken place on a level playing field, as Tesla has refused to respect the established rules of the Swedish labour market. 

Tesla has been an exceptional case — a company ideologically so opposed to trade union influence that has engaged in systematic strikebreaking since the dispute began. Tesla has also devoted enormous financial resources to undermining the strike, allowing it to withstand extensive industrial action in a way that few other companies could.

Nearly three years of solidarity

The dispute has nevertheless put the importance of collective bargaining agreements firmly on the agenda, both in Sweden and internationally. It has also demonstrated the deep-rooted support for the Swedish labour-market model, in which trade unions and employers negotiate and agree collectively on wages and working conditions.

Solidarity from trade unions in Sweden and across Europe has been unwavering, with solidarity actions playing an invaluable role throughout the dispute. IF Metall has also received strong support from the public and from other actors in the Swedish labour market.

Above all, IF Metall has paid tribute to the striking Tesla workers who have made significant personal sacrifices over almost three years, and the union has been resolute that it remains ready to defend collective bargaining wherever employers seek to undermine it. The dispute, has demonstrated the strength and endurance of organised labour.

On hearing the decision to conclude the strike, Judith Kirton-Darling, industriAll Europe General Secretary, stated:

“Full solidarity with IF Metall as collective action at Tesla comes to an end. The company has shown the lengths it will go to simply to avoid respecting the most basic of human rights: freedom of association and the right to negotiate collectively. IndustriAll Europe stands firmly alongside IF Metall and the workers who have fought for their fundamental trade union rights throughout the dispute.

“Strike action is never an easy choice, and this isn’t the result any of us would have wanted. We will always stand with our members to defend the most fundamental labour rights and our European social models. The struggle continues.”