MARCH QUARTER 2004 KEY POINTS
QUARTERLY ESTIMATES
- For the March quarter 2004, there were 187 disputes, the same as in the December quarter 2003.
- The number of employees involved in industrial disputes decreased from 116,300 in the December quarter 2003 to 45,000 in the March quarter 2004.
- There were 76,800 working days lost due to industrial disputation in the March quarter 2004, a decrease of 74,700 from the December quarter 2003.
- The Education and Health and community services industries accounted for 24,500 (32%) of the total number of working days lost in the March quarter 2004. However, Mining (other than coal mining) was the industry with the highest number of working days lost per thousand employees (71.3) for the quarter.
- In the March quarter 2004, Victoria accounted for 38,500 (50%) of working days lost. Victoria also had the highest number of working days lost per thousand employees (18.3) for the quarter, followed closely by Western Australia (17.4).
YEAR ENDED ESTIMATES
- During the year ended March 2004, there were 670 disputes, 88 less than in the year ended March 2003.
- During the year ended March 2004, there were 449,900 working days lost, 197,300 more than in the year ended March 2003.
Working days lost
|  |
MARCH QUARTER 2004 KEY FIGURES
| | Quarter
| Year ended
|
| | December Quarter 2003 | March Quarter 2004 | March 2003 | March 2004 |
|
| Number of disputes | | | | |
| Commenced in period (no.) | 172 | 177 | 740 | 658 |
| Total (no.) | 187 | 187 | 758 | 670 |
| Employees involved | | | | |
| Newly involved ('000) | 114.9 | 44.4 | 142.3 | 289.9 |
| Total ('000) | 116.3 | 45.0 | 143.9 | 293.4 |
| Working days lost ('000) | 151.5 | 76.8 | 252.6 | 449.9 |
|
TABLES
1. Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter |
| |
| Number of disputes
| Employees involved
| | |
| Commenced in period | Total | Newly involved | Total | Working days lost | |
| no. | no. | '000 | '000 | '000 | |
| |
| March Quarter 2002 | 168 | 179 | 44.5 | 46.6 | 72.7 | |
| June Quarter 2002 | 188 | 205 | 39.9 | 41.4 | 63.4 | |
| September Quarter 2002 | 218 | 240 | 35.6 | 40.9 | 53.4 | |
| December Quarter 2002 | 181 | 198 | 37.7 | 41.1 | 69.6 | |
| March Quarter 2003 | 153 | 162 | 29.2 | 30.1 | 66.3 | |
| June Quarter 2003 | 129 | 141 | 26.2 | 29.7 | 55.5 | |
| September Quarter 2003 | 180 | 193 | 104.4 | 107.9 | 166.2 | |
| December Quarter 2003 | 172 | 187 | 114.9 | 116.3 | 151.5 | |
| March Quarter 2004 | 177 | 187 | 44.4 | 45.0 | 76.8 | |
| |
2. Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, Industry |
| |
| | December Quarter 2003
| March Quarter 2004
| |
| | Working days lost | Working days lost per thousand employees | Working days lost | Working days lost per thousand employees | |
| | '000 | | '000 | | |
| |
| Mining | | | | | |
| Coal mining | 1.6 | 75.0 | 0.7 | 31.5 | |
| Other | 9.4 | 134.5 | 5.7 | 71.3 | |
| Manufacturing | | | | | |
| Metal product; Machinery and equipment | 28.7 | 80.8 | 4.8 | 13.0 | |
| Other | 5.4 | 8.8 | 7.0 | 11.2 | |
| Construction | 38.2 | 75.4 | 23.2 | 44.4 | |
| Transport and storage; Communication services | 5.6 | 14.9 | 3.9 | 7.4 | |
| Education; Health and community services | 51.8 | 30.3 | 24.5 | 15.8 | |
| Other industries | 10.7 | 2.4 | 7.0 | 1.5 | |
| All industries | 151.5 | 18.4 | 76.8 | 9.3 | |
| |
3. Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, States and territories |
| |
| December Quarter 2003
| March Quarter 2004
| |
| Working days lost | Working days lost per thousand employees | Working days lost | Working days lost per thousand employees | |
| '000 | | '000 | | |
| |
| New South Wales | 53.5 | 19.5 | 12.7 | 4.6 | |
| Victoria | 37.7 | 18.3 | 38.5 | 18.3 | |
| Queensland | 13.6 | 8.7 | 6.0 | 3.8 | |
| South Australia | 4.4 | 7.2 | 4.9 | 8.1 | |
| Western Australia | 41.2 | 50.7 | 14.4 | 17.4 | |
| Tasmania | 0.6 | 3.6 | 0.3 | 1.7 | |
| Northern Territory | 0.2 | 2.0 | - | - | |
| Australian Capital Territory | 0.3 | 1.8 | - | - | |
| Australia | 151.5 | 18.4 | 76.8 | 9.3 | |
| |
| - nil or rounded to zero (including null cells) |
4. Industrial disputes which ended during the quarter |
|
| | December Quarter 2003
| March Quarter 2004
|
| | Number of disputes | Employees involved | Working days lost | Number of disputes | Employees involved | Working days lost |
| | no. | '000 | '000 | no. | '000 | '000 |
CAUSE OF DISPUTE |
|
| Enterprise Bargaining (EB) related | | | | | | |
| Remuneration | 23 | 16.4 | 34.3 | 15 | 84.2 | 128.6 |
| Employment conditions | 8 | 9.1 | 44.3 | 14 | 9.9 | 54.3 |
| Other EB related | 12 | 2.3 | 5.2 | 7 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
| Non-EB related | | | | | | |
| Remuneration | 10 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 13 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
| Employment conditions | 7 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 6 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Health and safety | 46 | 9.2 | 11.9 | 62 | 10.6 | 14.9 |
| Job security | 10 | 1.7 | 15.6 | 13 | 2.7 | 3.9 |
| Managerial policy | 33 | 6.6 | 15.8 | 35 | 6.1 | 11.9 |
| Union issues | 10 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 15 | 2.8 | 3.9 |
| Other non-EB related | 18 | 69.3 | 54.8 | 7 | 4.7 | 5.5 |
| Total | 177 | 119.2 | 186.4 | 187 | 124.2 | 226.4 |
WORKING DAYS LOST PER EMPLOYEE INVOLVED |
|
| Up to and including 1 day | 90 | 70.2 | 48.2 | 106 | 22.3 | 15.6 |
| Over 1 day and up to including 2 days | 43 | 32.4 | 36.6 | 41 | 85.9 | 125.5 |
| Over 2 and less than 5 days | 25 | 13.6 | 58.6 | 31 | 6.4 | 18.2 |
| 5 and less than 10 days | 11 | 2.4 | 15.7 | 8 | 9.5 | 61.4 |
| 10 days and over | 8 | 0.6 | 27.3 | 1 | 0.1 | 5.7 |
| Total | 177 | 119.2 | 186.4 | 187 | 124.2 | 226.4 |
REASON WORK RESUMED |
|
| Negotiation without intervention of a third party | 31 | 3.8 | 17.6 | 23 | 12.5 | 59.1 |
| State legislation | 9 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 20 | 3.2 | 4.2 |
| Federal legislation | 16 | 13.3 | 22.6 | 26 | 4.6 | 8.1 |
| Pre-determined return to work | 35 | 31.6 | 34.0 | 29 | 89.6 | 133.8 |
| Resumption without negotiation | 72 | 67.5 | 89.8 | 75 | 12.8 | 13.6 |
| Mediation | 8 | 1.9 | 3.6 | 14 | 1.5 | 7.4 |
Other reasons
Total | 6 | 0.6 | 17.2 | - | - | - |
177 | 119.2 | 186.4 | 187 | 124.2 | 226.4 |
|
NOTES
INTRODUCTION
This is the first release of the electronic publication containing quarterly statistics on industrial disputes obtained from the Industrial Disputes collection. The December 2003 issue of Industrial Disputes, Australia (cat. no. 6321.0) was the final monthly release of industrial disputes statistics.
There are a number of changes to the release of Industrial Disputes statistics:
- data previously released monthly, or on a 12 months ended basis is now released on a quarterly basis;
- new classifications for Cause of dispute and Reason work resumed (formerly Method of settlement) have been introduced; and
- the Duration of dispute data item has been renamed Working days lost per employee involved.
Electronic spreadsheets containing quarterly data from the March quarter 1985 onwards are now available from the ABS web site. Electronic spreadsheets containing the monthly series from January 1984 to December 2003 are still available on the ABS web site.
REVISIONS
Revisions have been made to 12 months ended December 2003 data, for the data relating to disputes which ended during the period. Some disputes which were originally classified as ended during the period were subsequently identified as continuing into the next period.
INQUIRIES
For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Peta Sheehan on Perth (08) 9360 5159. As well as the statistics included in this publication, other data from the Industrial Disputes collection are available either as time series spreadsheets (see links below) or, on request, as customised reports. If you wish to discuss individual requests please telephone Peta Sheehan.
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