Tesla took a hit in its ongoing conflict with workers in the Nordic region this morning as an investor and Norway’s largest pension fund, known as KLP, said it will back workers in the collective bargaining issue that has gone on for more than eight months.
It also said it would vote against the ratification of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package and its relocation of incorporation from Delaware to Texas.
KLP said today that it would back the workers who are requesting Tesla engage in wage talks and other labor negotiations at the upcoming Shareholder Meeting.
The talks have resulted in a strike of many workers in the region, which has snowballed into solidarity strikes from various workers’ unions.
“We will support the proposal,” Kiran Aziz of KLP said to Reuters in a report. “We hope (it) will gain significant support from other shareholders, too.”
Tesla has a proposal on its agenda for next Thursday’s Shareholder Meeting that aims for investors to vote on the company’s potential “to adopt a policy explicitly committing to non-interference and good faith bargaining…with respect to freedom of association and collective bargaining.”
Many investors have been concerned about the issue, especially as it has started to impact other portions of Tesla’s business and operations. Drivers have not been able to easily access license plates as the Transport Workers’ Union joined IF Metall in an act of solidarity.
Tesla sued the Transport Agency for the move, but the Swedish Court ruled that it did not have to hear the action brought by Tesla as it said it “did not have the jurisdiction” to do so.
KLP is a major Tesla shareholder and owns 900,000 shares worth over $160 million.
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