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Industrial Disputes, Australia

Latest release

The number of disputes (strikes or lockouts), employees involved and working days lost; cause of dispute; duration; and the reason work resumed

Reference period
September 2024
Released
11/12/2024
  • Next Release 12/03/2025
    Industrial Disputes, Australia, December 2024
  • Next Release 11/06/2025
    Industrial Disputes, Australia, March 2025
  • View all releases

Key statistics

In the September quarter 2024:

  • 63 disputes occurred.
  • 33,000 employees were involved and 46,600 working days lost.
  • disputes occurred in 7 industries and in 8 states and territories.

During the year ended September 2024, there were 200 disputes and a total of 129,500 working days lost.

Key statistics
  QuarterYear ended
  June Quarter 2024September Quarter 2024September Quarter 2023September Quarter 2024
Number of disputes (no.)  
 New4354196180
 Total 5263211200
Employees involved ('000)  
 New23.630.949.479.5
 Total 23.833.052.783.8
Working days lost ('000)  21.946.676.1129.5

Overview

In the September quarter 2024, there were:

  • 63 disputes, an increase from 52 in the previous quarter.
  • 33,000 employees involved, an increase from 23,800 in the previous quarter.
  • 46,600 working days lost, an increase from 21,900 in the previous quarter.

Year ended estimates:

  • 200 disputes occurred, 11 less than in the previous year.
  • 129,500 working days were lost, 53,500 more than in the previous year.
Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter
 Number of disputesEmployees involvedWorking days lost 
 New (no.)Total (no.)New ('000)Total ('000)('000)
September Quarter 2022607021.222.228.1
December Quarter 2022536818.421.621.0
March Quarter 202333414.14.77.7
June Quarter 202357719.610.510.2
September Quarter 2023536717.418.837.1
December Quarter 2023476714.318.644.2
March Quarter 2024364810.612.816.8
June Quarter 2024435223.623.821.9
September Quarter 2024546330.933.046.6

Long-term trends

The level of industrial disputation over recent years is considerably lower than in the 1980's and prior decades.

Industry

In the September quarter, disputes occurred in seven industries.  Over a half (59%) of the total working days lost were in the Construction industry.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, industry
  June Quarter 2024September Quarter 2024
  Working days lost ('000)Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)Working days lost ('000)Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)
Mining  
 Coal mining--0.25.7
 Other mining----
Manufacturing  
 Metal product etc (a)2.26.42.37.1
 Other manufacturing3.97.73.67.1
Construction 8.97.927.525.6
Transport, postal & warehousing 0.60.91.42.3
Education & training; Health care & social assistance 4.91.56.01.8
Other industries (a) 1.40.25.60.8
All industries 21.91.746.63.5

(a)  see Glossary - Industry - for details of industries included
(-)  nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

States and territories

Disputes occurred in eight states and territories in the September quarter, with over a third (36%) of the total working days lost occurring in Victoria.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, states and territories
 June Quarter 2024September Quarter 2024
 Working days lost ('000)Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)Working days lost ('000)Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)
New South Wales2.40.612.23.0
Victoria2.40.716.64.8
Queensland10.43.913.14.9
South Australianpnp2.73.1
Western Australia4.53.00.30.2
Tasmanianpnpnpnp
Northern Territory--npnp
Australian Capital Territory--npnp
Australia21.91.746.63.5

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

Cause of dispute

Most industrial disputes are Enterprise Bargaining (EB) related. Over the past 10 years, disputes over employment conditions have generally been the most prevalent. 

EB related issues were the cause of 67% of disputes (29 of 43) which ended in the June quarter 2024.

Cause of dispute for disputes which ended during the quarter
  March Quarter 2024June Quarter 2024
  Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)
Enterprise Bargaining related  
 Remuneration60.52.160.41.6
 Employment conditions239.620.52310.47.6
 Other ------
Non-Enterprise Bargaining related  
 Remuneration------
 Employment conditions------
 Health and safety81.41.6115.94.7
 Job security---1npnp
 Managerial policy------
 Union issues---1npnp
 Other21.00.813.11.6
Total 3912.525.14321.716.7

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

Working days lost

Working days lost is a measure of the length of a dispute, relative to the number of employees involved.

Of the 43 disputes which ended in the June quarter, 23 lasted up to and including 1 day. These disputes had:

  • 20,400 employees involved; and
  • 11,800 working days lost.
Working days lost for disputes which ended during the quarter
 March Quarter 2024June Quarter 2024
 Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)
Up to and including 1 day177.86.92320.411.8
Over 1 day and up to including 2 days132.43.440.30.4
Over 2 and less than 5 days60.61.6121.03.1
5 and less than 10 days21.712.020.10.4
10 days and over1-1.12-1.0
Total3912.525.14321.716.7

(-)  nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

Reason work resumed

The reason work resumed relates to the last day of action taken. Resumption of work can occur without resolution to the issues that triggered the dispute. 

There was a pre-determined return to work for 72% of disputes (31 of 43) which ended in the June quarter 2024. 

Reason work resumed for disputes which ended during the quarter
 March Quarter 2024June Quarter 2024
 Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)
Negotiation without intervention of a third party4npnp4npnp
State legislation------
Federal legislation------
Pre-determined return to work2810.321.43118.913.7
Resumption without negotiation51.92.17npnp
Mediation2npnp1npnp
Other reasons------
Total3912.525.14321.716.7

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

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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6321.0.55.001.

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