6321.0.55.001 - Industrial Disputes, Australia, Sep 2004  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 16/12/2004   
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SEPTEMBER QUARTER 2004 KEY POINTS


QUARTERLY ESTIMATES

  • For the September quarter 2004, there were 193 disputes, 3 more than in the June quarter 2004.
  • The number of employees involved in industrial disputes decreased from 65,000 in the June quarter 2004 to 56,200 in the September quarter 2004.
  • There were 93,300 working days lost due to industrial disputation in the September quarter 2004, a decrease of 60,900 from the June quarter 2004.
  • The Construction industry accounted for 36,900 (40%) of the total number of working days lost in the September quarter 2004. The Coal mining industry had the highest number of working days lost per thousand employees (235.5) for the quarter.
  • In the September quarter 2004, NSW accounted for 37,800 (41%) of working days lost. Western Australia had the highest number of working days lost per thousand employees (20.6) for the quarter.


YEAR ENDED ESTIMATES
  • During the year ended September 2004, there were 726 disputes, 66 more than in the year ended September 2003.
  • During the year ended September 2004, there were 479,400 working days lost, 122,000 more than in the year ended September 2003.
Working days lost
Graph: Graph Working days lost

SEPTEMBER QUARTER 2004 KEY FIGURES

Quarter
Year ended
June Quarter 2004
September Quarter 2004
September 2003
September 2004

Number of disputes
Commenced in period (no.)
r175
187
643
711
Total (no.)
r190
193
660
726
Employees involved
Newly involved ('000)
r63.2
56.0
197.4
278.6
Total ('000)
r65.0
56.2
200.8
280.0
Working days lost ('000)
r154.2
93.3
357.4
479.4

r revised


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

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
44.6
45.2
80.4
June Quarter 2004
r175
r190
r63.2
r65.0
r154.2
September Quarter 2004
187
193
56.0
56.2
93.3

r revised

2. Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, Industry

June Quarter 2004
September 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
0.3
16.5
4.4
235.5
Other
0.4
5.2
0.5
7.3
Manufacturing
Metal product; Machinery and equipment
6.6
18.0
9.7
27.5
Other
5.1
7.8
1.1
1.6
Construction
r26.5
r48.6
36.9
71.1
Transport and storage; Communication services
11.6
21.4
2.3
4.3
Education; Health and community services
98.5
61.1
5.9
3.7
Other industries
5.2
1.1
32.5
7.2
All industries
r154.2
r18.4
93.3
11.3

r revised

3. Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, States and territories

June Quarter 2004
September 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
113.3
40.8
37.8
14.0
Victoria
17.3
8.2
26.8
12.8
Queensland
4.9
3.0
8.2
5.1
South Australia
1.5
2.4
1.1
1.8
Western Australia
r15.7
r18.5
16.6
20.6
Tasmania
0.1
0.4
1.2
6.4
Northern Territory
1.1
11.9
1.6
18.4
Australian Capital Territory
0.4
2.2
0.1
0.5
Australia
r154.2
r18.4
93.3
11.3

r revised

4. Industrial disputes which ended during the quarter (a)

March Quarter 2004
June 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
10
8.1
15.6
13
87.4
215.9
Employment conditions (EB)
9
9.2
56.5
14
3.6
5.9
Other EB related
6
0.5
1.0
5
2.9
3.4
Non-EB related
Remuneration
12
1.9
1.6
12
1.9
2.6
Employment conditions
6
0.6
0.6
9
1.4
1.9
Health and safety
60
10.5
14.8
49
9.6
12.4
Job security
13
2.7
3.9
13
5.8
2.7
Managerial policy
35
6.2
12.2
36
4.6
5.6
Union issues
14
2.6
3.5
22
7.3
3.3
Other non-EB related
7
4.7
5.5
11
4.5
2.9
Total
172
46.8
115.0
184
129.0
256.5

WORKING DAYS LOST PER EMPLOYEE INVOLVED

Up to and including 1 day
99
20.6
14.4
110
37.3
21.8
Over 1 day and up to including 2 days
37
10.8
14.2
46
14.7
21.3
Over 2 and less than 5 days
27
5.7
16.0
23
76.4
210.2
5 and less than 10 days
np
9.5
61.4
np
0.6
3.1
10 days and over
np
0.2
9.0
np
-
0.1
Total
172
46.8
115.0
184
129.0
256.5

REASON WORK RESUMED

Negotiation without intervention of a third party
20
11.9
57.9
42
8.9
11.9
State legislation
19
3.1
3.9
np
0.9
1.1
Federal legislation
25
4.6
8.4
23
3.6
7.9
Pre-determined return to work
25
14.5
22.3
26
92.3
215.8
Resumption without negotiation
69
11.2
15.1
76
22.3
17.2
Mediation
14
1.5
7.4
10
1.1
2.6
Other reasons
-
-
-
np
0.1
-
Total
172
46.8
115.0
184
129.0
256.5

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
(a) See Explanatory Notes, paragraph 12



NOTES

INTRODUCTION

This publication presents quarterly statistics on industrial disputes in Australia, obtained from the Industrial Disputes collection.


REVISIONS

Revisions have been made to the quarterly series as a result of disputes being identified after the release of the previous issue and as a result of correcting errors in previously reported data.


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.