Employer sues employees for wildcat strike

Wildcat strikes, i.e. strikes that are not sanctioned by the unions, are very unusual in Sweden since trade unions that have a collective bargaining agreement with an employer are obliged to maintain industrial peace. Nonetheless, a wildcat strike crippled the commuting trains in Stockholm earlier in April. The background is that a few years ago, Region Stockholm (responsible for all publicly-financed healthcare and public transport in Stockholm County) decided to replace the train attendants on the commuter trains in Stockholm with cameras. Since then, unions and employees have been trying to stop the removal of the train attendants. The unions argue that work environment laws are not respected when train drivers become solely responsible for the safety on the commuter trains. The company charged with operating the trains, on the other hand, states that neither the safety nor the working environment for the train drivers is reduced. In the middle of negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement for the rail transport industry, a wildcat strike broke out on Stockholm's commuter trains. The train company has now filed a lawsuit against the train drivers who participated in the wildcat strike for SEK 6,000 (approximately EUR 600) in damages per person and a claim for SEK 100,000 (approximately EUR 10,000) from the local union club of the commuter train.