Industrial Disputes, Australia

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

Reference period
June 2020
Released
3/09/2020

Key statistics

In the June quarter 2020:

  • 11 disputes occurred.
  • 1,100 employees were involved and 1,500 working days lost.
  • disputes occurred in 4 industries and in 3 states.

Across 2019-20, there were 102 disputes with 35,600 working days lost.
 

Main features

Quarterly estimates

  • 11 disputes occurred, 12 fewer than from the previous quarter.
  • 1,100 employees were involved, a decrease from 4,000 in the previous quarter.
  • 1,500 working days were lost, a decrease from 3,900 in the previous quarter.
  • More than five in ten (53%) working days lost were in the Transport, postal and warehousing industry.
  • More than seven in ten (71%) working days lost were in Victoria.

Year ended estimates

  • 102 disputes occurred, 68 less than in the previous year.
  • 35,600 working days were lost, 68% less than the previous year.
 QuarterYear ended
March 2020June 2020June 2019June 2020
Number of disputes    
 Commenced in period (no.)r17816394
 Total (no.)r2311170102
Employees involved    
 Newly involved ('000)r2.90.965.828.8
 Total ('000)r4.01.166.029.6
Working days lost ('000)3.91.5112.535.6

r revised

 

Tables

1 Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter

 Number of disputesEmployees involved 
 Commenced in periodTotalNewly involvedTotalWorking days lost
 no.no.'000'000'000
June Quarter 2018424814.414.612.5
September Quarter 2018445113.613.847.4
December Quarter 2018536225.628.830.9
March Quarter 201932447.89.316.6
June Quarter 2019344418.820.217.6
September Quarter 2019354316.817.517.8
December Quarter 201934388.38.812.4
March Quarter 2020r17r23r2.9r4.03.9
June Quarter 20208110.91.11.5

r revised

 

2 Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, industry

 March Quarter 2020June Quarter 2020
Working days lostWorking days lost per thousand employeesWorking days lostWorking days lost per thousand employees
'000no.'000no.
Mining    
 Coal mining----
 Other mining----
Manufacturing    
 Metal product etc(a)0.10.3--
 Other manufacturing0.91.70.61.2
Construction0.20.2npnp
Transport, postal and warehousing2.54.30.81.6
Education and training; Health care and social assistance0.1-npnp
Other industries(a)0.1---
All industries3.90.31.50.1

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
a. See Glossary - Industry - for details of industries included.

 

3 Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, states and territories

 March Quarter 2020June Quarter 2020
Working days lostWorking days lost per thousand employeesWorking days lostWorking days lost per thousand employees
'000no.'000no.
New South Wales1.00.3npnp
Victoria2.00.61.00.4
Queenslandnpnpnpnp
South Australia----
Western Australianpnp--
Tasmania----
Northern Territory----
Australian Capital Territory----
Australia3.90.31.50.1

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

 

4 Industrial disputes which ended during the quarter

 December Quarter 2019March Quarter 2020
Total Number of DisputesTotal Employees InvolvedWorking days LostTotal Number of DisputesTotal Employees InvolvedWorking days Lost
no.'000'000no.'000'000
  CAUSE OF DISPUTE
Enterprise Bargaining (EB) related      
 Remuneration81.24.240.20.3
 Employment conditions (EB)155.39.5123.43.6
 Other EB related2npnp---
Non-EB related      
 Remuneration------
 Employment conditions------
 Health and safety40.50.430.20.1
 Job security1npnp---
 Managerial policy---10.10.1
 Union issues------
 Other Non EB related30.90.5---
Total338.014.6203.84.1
  WORKING DAYS LOST PER EMPLOYEE INVOLVED
Up to and including 1 day226.82.5133.32.7
Over 1 day and up to including 2 days1npnp40.40.6
Over 2 and less than 5 days30.41.01npnp
5 and less than 10 days2npnp1npnp
10 days and over50.610.41npnp
Total338.014.6203.84.1
  REASON WORK RESUMED
Negotiation without intervention of a third party---2npnp
State legislation20.10.1---
Federal legislation1-0.2---
Pre-determined return to work277.513.9163.73.5
Resumption without negotiation20.40.4---
Mediation10.1-1npnp
Other reasons---1npnp
Total338.014.6203.84.1

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

 

Revisions

Revisions have been made to the March quarter 2020 data. The data items affected were number of disputes and employees involved at total Australia level. These revisions are reflected in Table 1 and the associated time series spreadsheet.

Inquiries

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.

Data downloads

Table 1: Industrial disputes which occurred during the period

Table 2a: Industrial disputes which occurred during the period, working days lost, industry

Table 2b: Industrial disputes which occurred during the period, working days lost per thousand employees, industry

Table 3a: Industrial disputes which occurred during the period, working days lost, states and territories

Table 3b: Industrial disputes which occurred during the period, working days lost per thousand employees, states and territories

Table 4a: Industrial disputes which ended during the period, cause of dispute

Table 4b: Industrial disputes which ended during the period, working days lost per employee involved

Table 4c: Industrial disputes which ended during the period, reason work resumed

All data cubes

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6321.0.55.001.

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