The ABS will be closed from 12.00pm, 24 December 2024 and will reopen at 9.00am, 2 January 2025. During this time there will be no statistical releases and our support functions will be unavailable. The ABS wishes you a safe and happy Christmas.

Industrial Disputes, Australia

This is not the latest release View the 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

June 2022

Released

8/09/2022

View all releases

Key statistics

In the June quarter 2022:

52 disputes occurred.
73,700 employees were involved and 128,100 working days lost.
disputes occurred in 8 industries and in 7 states and territories.

During the year ended June 2022, there were 154 disputes and a total of 234,600 working days lost.

		March Quarter 2022	June Quarter 2022	June Quarter 2021	June Quarter 2022
		Quarter		Year ended
Number of disputes (no.)
	New	22	45	98	143
	Total	30	52	100	154
Employees involved ('000)
	New	10.1	71.2	14.7	143.7
	Total	11.4	73.7	14.8	145.3
Working days lost ('000)		19.6	128.1	57.7	234.6

Overview

In the June quarter 2022, there were:

52 disputes, 22 more than from the previous quarter.
73,700 employees involved, an increase from 11,400 in the previous quarter.
128,100 working days lost, an increase from 19,600 in the previous quarter.

Year ended estimates:

154 disputes occurred, 54 more than in the previous year.
234,600 working days were lost, 176,900 more than the previous year.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter
	Number of disputes		Employees involved		Working days lost
	New (no.)	Total (no.)	New ('000)	Total ('000)	('000)
June Quarter 2020	8	11	0.9	1.1	1.5
September Quarter 2020	19	21	4.2	4.3	11.7
December Quarter 2020	27	32	2.2	2.6	16.5
March Quarter 2021	22	24	2.3	2.7	19.2
June Quarter 2021	30	36	6.0	6.4	10.4
September Quarter 2021	39	50	11.7	13.3	18.5
December Quarter 2021	37	55	50.6	57.2	68.5
March Quarter 2022	22	30	10.1	11.4	19.6
June Quarter 2022	45	52	71.2	73.7	128.1

Long-term trends

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

Industrial disputes in the last 10 years, Australia
Quarter	Working days lost ('000)	Employees involved ('000)	Number of disputes (no.)
Jun-12	101.7	70.0	53
Sep-12	110.0	55.8	68
Dec-12	25.7	27.3	58
Mar-13	52.1	46.9	55
Jun-13	19.8	10.9	61
Sep-13	23.0	19.7	65
Dec-13	36.1	57.3	58
Mar-14	9.7	5.7	37
Jun-14	20.2	19.9	60
Sep-14	24.6	18.9	55
Dec-14	16.9	19.8	57
Mar-15	20.4	14.6	46
Jun-15	14.8	17.8	59
Sep-15	29.1	29.8	78
Dec-15	19.1	20.3	72
Mar-16	27.9	23.9	80
Jun-16	24.5	20.5	60
Sep-16	34.9	26.3	93
Dec-16	37.2	37.5	48
Mar-17	25.6	22.7	32
Jun-17	40.2	27.8	49
Sep-17	45.9	8.1	57
Dec-17	36.7	17.1	67
Mar-18	14.9	4.0	24
Jun-18	12.5	14.6	48
Sep-18	47.4	13.8	51
Dec-18	30.9	28.8	62
Mar-19	16.6	9.3	44
Jun-19	17.6	20.2	44
Sep-19	17.8	17.5	43
Dec-19	12.4	8.8	38
Mar-20	3.9	4.0	23
Jun-20	1.5	1.1	11
Sep-20	11.7	4.3	21
Dec-20	16.5	2.6	32
Mar-21	19.2	2.7	24
Jun-21	10.4	6.4	36
Sep-21	18.5	13.3	50
Dec-21	68.5	57.2	55
Mar-22	19.6	11.4	30
Jun-22	128.1	73.7	52

Industrial disputes in the last 10 years, Australia

["Quarter","Working days lost ('000)","Employees involved ('000)","Number of disputes (no.)"]

[["Jun-12","Sep-12","Dec-12","Mar-13","Jun-13","Sep-13","Dec-13","Mar-14","Jun-14","Sep-14","Dec-14","Mar-15","Jun-15","Sep-15","Dec-15","Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22"],[[101.7],[110],[25.699999999999999],[52.100000000000001],[19.800000000000001],[23],[36.100000000000001],[9.6999999999999993],[20.199999999999999],[24.600000000000001],[16.899999999999999],[20.399999999999999],[14.800000000000001],[29.100000000000001],[19.100000000000001],[27.899999999999999],[24.5],[34.899999999999999],[37.200000000000003],[25.600000000000001],[40.200000000000003],[45.899999999999999],[36.700000000000003],[14.9],[12.5],[47.399999999999999],[30.899999999999999],[16.600000000000001],[17.600000000000001],[17.800000000000001],[12.4],[3.8999999999999999],[1.5],[11.699999999999999],[16.5],[19.199999999999999],[10.4],[18.5],[68.5],[19.600000000000001],[128.09999999999999]],[[70],[55.799999999999997],[27.300000000000001],[46.899999999999999],[10.9],[19.699999999999999],[57.299999999999997],[5.7000000000000002],[19.899999999999999],[18.899999999999999],[19.800000000000001],[14.6],[17.800000000000001],[29.800000000000001],[20.300000000000001],[23.899999999999999],[20.5],[26.300000000000001],[37.5],[22.699999999999999],[27.800000000000001],[8.0999999999999996],[17.100000000000001],[4],[14.6],[13.800000000000001],[28.800000000000001],[9.3000000000000007],[20.199999999999999],[17.5],[8.8000000000000007],[4],[1.1000000000000001],[4.2999999999999998],[2.6000000000000001],[2.7000000000000002],[6.4000000000000004],[13.300000000000001],[57.200000000000003],[11.4],[73.700000000000003]],[[53],[68],[58],[55],[61],[65],[58],[37],[60],[55],[57],[46],[59],[78],[72],[80],[60],[93],[48],[32],[49],[57],[67],[24],[48],[51],[62],[44],[44],[43],[38],[23],[11],[21],[32],[24],[36],[50],[55],[30],[52]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":"4","precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"no.","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false},{"value":"1","axis_id":"1","axis_title":"'000","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Industrial disputes historical series, Australia
Quarter	Working days lost ('000)	Employees involved ('000)	Number of disputes (no.)
Mar-85	333.1	132.2	445
Jun-85	202.1	122.5	400
Sep-85	349.4	170.9	605
Dec-85	371.6	163.6	508
Mar-86	199.3	67.8	379
Jun-86	526.3	319.3	483
Sep-86	289.9	162.3	491
Dec-86	375.2	155.5	456
Mar-87	184.2	85.8	366
Jun-87	277.6	183.1	418
Sep-87	519.3	151.1	383
Dec-87	330.8	185.3	409
Mar-88	214.5	91.3	393
Jun-88	625.9	442.5	420
Sep-88	540.3	333.6	358
Dec-88	260.7	108.1	372
Mar-89	170.1	89.7	383
Jun-89	313.6	149.1	386
Sep-89	475.0	334.9	363
Dec-89	243.6	157.0	309
Mar-90	162.0	84.6	294
Jun-90	301.1	208.3	295
Sep-90	341.2	304.1	336
Dec-90	572.2	317.1	309
Mar-91	97.5	85.0	285
Jun-91	563.0	334.6	304
Sep-91	340.2	343.8	302
Dec-91	609.8	589.1	187
Mar-92	66.1	52.5	207
Jun-92	154.2	85.2	213
Sep-92	51.6	43.1	181
Dec-92	669.2	695.2	164
Mar-93	196.4	180.4	156
Jun-93	98.4	83.7	164
Sep-93	202.2	130.1	168
Dec-93	138.7	123.2	147
Mar-94	112.5	37.3	112
Jun-94	77.5	44.4	131
Sep-94	102.9	66.7	159
Dec-94	208.7	132.1	175
Mar-95	111.3	74.4	170
Jun-95	156.8	86.6	170
Sep-95	120.1	67.6	180
Dec-95	159.4	135.8	155
Mar-96	153.0	108.8	134
Jun-96	368.1	224.0	149
Sep-96	304.3	285.9	126
Dec-96	103.3	78.4	156
Mar-97	88.4	56.7	97
Jun-97	144.0	91.0	126
Sep-97	125.2	55.8	125
Dec-97	176.6	115.2	112
Mar-98	98.3	48.4	107
Jun-98	191.8	141.5	103
Sep-98	126.3	76.5	158
Dec-98	110.0	90.1	175
Mar-99	102.0	62.9	162
Jun-99	74.0	51.3	180
Sep-99	243.1	265.1	230
Dec-99	231.6	118.1	192
Mar-00	146.1	105.5	201
Jun-00	173.3	129.2	192
Sep-00	86.2	64.1	194
Dec-00	63.5	38.9	170
Mar-01	70.3	37.5	204
Jun-01	129.5	99.0	173
Sep-01	111.1	52.5	195
Dec-01	82.2	43.4	156
Mar-02	72.7	46.6	179
Jun-02	63.4	41.4	205
Sep-02	53.4	40.9	240
Dec-02	69.6	41.1	198
Mar-03	66.3	30.1	162
Jun-03	55.5	29.7	141
Sep-03	166.2	107.9	193
Dec-03	151.5	116.3	187
Mar-04	80.4	45.2	187
Jun-04	154.2	65.0	190
Sep-04	93.3	56.2	194
Dec-04	51.9	33.6	149
Mar-05	45.1	20.8	119
Jun-05	52.8	53.4	138
Sep-05	49.3	68.4	150
Dec-05	81.0	102.6	96
Mar-06	30.1	19.0	101
Jun-06	28.2	37.7	24
Sep-06	20.2	6.6	44
Dec-06	54.2	60.6	50
Mar-07	6.9	3.6	33
Jun-07	7.1	4.5	32
Sep-07	11.3	5.9	45
Dec-07	24.4	23.7	36
Mar-08	42.8	42.3	39
Jun-08	86.5	69.0	60
Sep-08	36.2	60.5	56
Dec-08	31.1	62.9	43
Mar-09	11.6	8.4	48
Jun-09	47.3	43.9	58
Sep-09	29.1	18.0	72
Dec-09	44.7	27.0	81
Mar-10	28.8	13.2	54
Jun-10	24.0	13.9	56
Sep-10	46.6	16.0	72
Dec-10	27.2	17.0	70
Mar-11	19.7	11.1	37
Jun-11	66.2	14.7	53
Sep-11	101.3	66.4	66
Dec-11	54.3	51.6	74
Mar-12	35.8	6.7	43
Jun-12	101.7	70.0	53
Sep-12	110.0	55.8	68
Dec-12	25.7	27.3	58
Mar-13	52.1	46.9	55
Jun-13	19.8	10.9	61
Sep-13	23.0	19.7	65
Dec-13	36.1	57.3	58
Mar-14	9.7	5.7	37
Jun-14	20.2	19.9	60
Sep-14	24.6	18.9	55
Dec-14	16.9	19.8	57
Mar-15	20.4	14.6	46
Jun-15	14.8	17.8	59
Sep-15	29.1	29.8	78
Dec-15	19.1	20.3	72
Mar-16	27.9	23.9	80
Jun-16	24.5	20.5	60
Sep-16	34.9	26.3	93
Dec-16	37.2	37.5	48
Mar-17	25.6	22.7	32
Jun-17	40.2	27.8	49
Sep-17	45.9	8.1	57
Dec-17	36.7	17.1	67
Mar-18	14.9	4.0	24
Jun-18	12.5	14.6	48
Sep-18	47.4	13.8	51
Dec-18	30.9	28.8	62
Mar-19	16.6	9.3	44
Jun-19	17.6	20.2	44
Sep-19	17.8	17.5	43
Dec-19	12.4	8.8	38
Mar-20	3.9	4.0	23
Jun-20	1.5	1.1	11
Sep-20	11.7	4.3	21
Dec-20	16.5	2.6	32
Mar-21	19.2	2.7	24
Jun-21	10.4	6.4	36
Sep-21	18.5	13.3	50
Dec-21	68.5	57.2	55
Mar-22	19.6	11.4	30
Jun-22	128.1	73.7	52

Industrial disputes historical series, Australia

["Quarter","Working days lost ('000)","Employees involved ('000)","Number of disputes (no.)"]

[["Mar-85","Jun-85","Sep-85","Dec-85","Mar-86","Jun-86","Sep-86","Dec-86","Mar-87","Jun-87","Sep-87","Dec-87","Mar-88","Jun-88","Sep-88","Dec-88","Mar-89","Jun-89","Sep-89","Dec-89","Mar-90","Jun-90","Sep-90","Dec-90","Mar-91","Jun-91","Sep-91","Dec-91","Mar-92","Jun-92","Sep-92","Dec-92","Mar-93","Jun-93","Sep-93","Dec-93","Mar-94","Jun-94","Sep-94","Dec-94","Mar-95","Jun-95","Sep-95","Dec-95","Mar-96","Jun-96","Sep-96","Dec-96","Mar-97","Jun-97","Sep-97","Dec-97","Mar-98","Jun-98","Sep-98","Dec-98","Mar-99","Jun-99","Sep-99","Dec-99","Mar-00","Jun-00","Sep-00","Dec-00","Mar-01","Jun-01","Sep-01","Dec-01","Mar-02","Jun-02","Sep-02","Dec-02","Mar-03","Jun-03","Sep-03","Dec-03","Mar-04","Jun-04","Sep-04","Dec-04","Mar-05","Jun-05","Sep-05","Dec-05","Mar-06","Jun-06","Sep-06","Dec-06","Mar-07","Jun-07","Sep-07","Dec-07","Mar-08","Jun-08","Sep-08","Dec-08","Mar-09","Jun-09","Sep-09","Dec-09","Mar-10","Jun-10","Sep-10","Dec-10","Mar-11","Jun-11","Sep-11","Dec-11","Mar-12","Jun-12","Sep-12","Dec-12","Mar-13","Jun-13","Sep-13","Dec-13","Mar-14","Jun-14","Sep-14","Dec-14","Mar-15","Jun-15","Sep-15","Dec-15","Mar-16","Jun-16","Sep-16","Dec-16","Mar-17","Jun-17","Sep-17","Dec-17","Mar-18","Jun-18","Sep-18","Dec-18","Mar-19","Jun-19","Sep-19","Dec-19","Mar-20","Jun-20","Sep-20","Dec-20","Mar-21","Jun-21","Sep-21","Dec-21","Mar-22","Jun-22"],[[333.10000000000002],[202.09999999999999],[349.39999999999998],[371.60000000000002],[199.30000000000001],[526.29999999999995],[289.89999999999998],[375.19999999999999],[184.19999999999999],[277.60000000000002],[519.29999999999995],[330.80000000000001],[214.5],[625.89999999999998],[540.29999999999995],[260.69999999999999],[170.09999999999999],[313.60000000000002],[475],[243.59999999999999],[162],[301.10000000000002],[341.19999999999999],[572.20000000000005],[97.5],[563],[340.19999999999999],[609.79999999999995],[66.099999999999994],[154.19999999999999],[51.600000000000001],[669.20000000000005],[196.40000000000001],[98.400000000000006],[202.19999999999999],[138.69999999999999],[112.5],[77.5],[102.90000000000001],[208.69999999999999],[111.3],[156.80000000000001],[120.09999999999999],[159.40000000000001],[153],[368.10000000000002],[304.30000000000001],[103.3],[88.400000000000006],[144],[125.2],[176.59999999999999],[98.299999999999997],[191.80000000000001],[126.3],[110],[102],[74],[243.09999999999999],[231.59999999999999],[146.09999999999999],[173.30000000000001],[86.200000000000003],[63.5],[70.299999999999997],[129.5],[111.09999999999999],[82.200000000000003],[72.700000000000003],[63.399999999999999],[53.399999999999999],[69.599999999999994],[66.299999999999997],[55.5],[166.19999999999999],[151.5],[80.400000000000006],[154.19999999999999],[93.299999999999997],[51.899999999999999],[45.100000000000001],[52.799999999999997],[49.299999999999997],[81],[30.100000000000001],[28.199999999999999],[20.199999999999999],[54.200000000000003],[6.9000000000000004],[7.0999999999999996],[11.300000000000001],[24.399999999999999],[42.799999999999997],[86.5],[36.200000000000003],[31.100000000000001],[11.6],[47.299999999999997],[29.100000000000001],[44.700000000000003],[28.800000000000001],[24],[46.600000000000001],[27.199999999999999],[19.699999999999999],[66.200000000000003],[101.3],[54.299999999999997],[35.799999999999997],[101.7],[110],[25.699999999999999],[52.100000000000001],[19.800000000000001],[23],[36.100000000000001],[9.6999999999999993],[20.199999999999999],[24.600000000000001],[16.899999999999999],[20.399999999999999],[14.800000000000001],[29.100000000000001],[19.100000000000001],[27.899999999999999],[24.5],[34.899999999999999],[37.200000000000003],[25.600000000000001],[40.200000000000003],[45.899999999999999],[36.700000000000003],[14.9],[12.5],[47.399999999999999],[30.899999999999999],[16.600000000000001],[17.600000000000001],[17.800000000000001],[12.4],[3.8999999999999999],[1.5],[11.699999999999999],[16.5],[19.199999999999999],[10.4],[18.5],[68.5],[19.600000000000001],[128.09999999999999]],[[132.19999999999999],[122.5],[170.90000000000001],[163.59999999999999],[67.799999999999997],[319.30000000000001],[162.30000000000001],[155.5],[85.799999999999997],[183.09999999999999],[151.09999999999999],[185.30000000000001],[91.299999999999997],[442.5],[333.60000000000002],[108.09999999999999],[89.700000000000003],[149.09999999999999],[334.89999999999998],[157],[84.599999999999994],[208.30000000000001],[304.10000000000002],[317.10000000000002],[85],[334.60000000000002],[343.80000000000001],[589.10000000000002],[52.5],[85.200000000000003],[43.100000000000001],[695.20000000000005],[180.40000000000001],[83.700000000000003],[130.09999999999999],[123.2],[37.299999999999997],[44.399999999999999],[66.700000000000003],[132.09999999999999],[74.400000000000006],[86.599999999999994],[67.599999999999994],[135.80000000000001],[108.8],[224],[285.89999999999998],[78.400000000000006],[56.700000000000003],[91],[55.799999999999997],[115.2],[48.399999999999999],[141.5],[76.5],[90.099999999999994],[62.899999999999999],[51.299999999999997],[265.10000000000002],[118.09999999999999],[105.5],[129.19999999999999],[64.099999999999994],[38.899999999999999],[37.5],[99],[52.5],[43.399999999999999],[46.600000000000001],[41.399999999999999],[40.899999999999999],[41.100000000000001],[30.100000000000001],[29.699999999999999],[107.90000000000001],[116.3],[45.200000000000003],[65],[56.200000000000003],[33.600000000000001],[20.800000000000001],[53.399999999999999],[68.400000000000006],[102.59999999999999],[19],[37.700000000000003],[6.5999999999999996],[60.600000000000001],[3.6000000000000001],[4.5],[5.9000000000000004],[23.699999999999999],[42.299999999999997],[69],[60.5],[62.899999999999999],[8.4000000000000004],[43.899999999999999],[18],[27],[13.199999999999999],[13.9],[16],[17],[11.1],[14.699999999999999],[66.400000000000006],[51.600000000000001],[6.7000000000000002],[70],[55.799999999999997],[27.300000000000001],[46.899999999999999],[10.9],[19.699999999999999],[57.299999999999997],[5.7000000000000002],[19.899999999999999],[18.899999999999999],[19.800000000000001],[14.6],[17.800000000000001],[29.800000000000001],[20.300000000000001],[23.899999999999999],[20.5],[26.300000000000001],[37.5],[22.699999999999999],[27.800000000000001],[8.0999999999999996],[17.100000000000001],[4],[14.6],[13.800000000000001],[28.800000000000001],[9.3000000000000007],[20.199999999999999],[17.5],[8.8000000000000007],[4],[1.1000000000000001],[4.2999999999999998],[2.6000000000000001],[2.7000000000000002],[6.4000000000000004],[13.300000000000001],[57.200000000000003],[11.4],[73.700000000000003]],[[445],[400],[605],[508],[379],[483],[491],[456],[366],[418],[383],[409],[393],[420],[358],[372],[383],[386],[363],[309],[294],[295],[336],[309],[285],[304],[302],[187],[207],[213],[181],[164],[156],[164],[168],[147],[112],[131],[159],[175],[170],[170],[180],[155],[134],[149],[126],[156],[97],[126],[125],[112],[107],[103],[158],[175],[162],[180],[230],[192],[201],[192],[194],[170],[204],[173],[195],[156],[179],[205],[240],[198],[162],[141],[193],[187],[187],[190],[194],[149],[119],[138],[150],[96],[101],[24],[44],[50],[33],[32],[45],[36],[39],[60],[56],[43],[48],[58],[72],[81],[54],[56],[72],[70],[37],[53],[66],[74],[43],[53],[68],[58],[55],[61],[65],[58],[37],[60],[55],[57],[46],[59],[78],[72],[80],[60],[93],[48],[32],[49],[57],[67],[24],[48],[51],[62],[44],[44],[43],[38],[23],[11],[21],[32],[24],[36],[50],[55],[30],[52]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":"4","precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"no.","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false},{"value":"1","axis_id":"1","axis_title":"'000","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Industry

In the June quarter, disputes occurred in eight industries. More than four in five (91%) working days lost were in the Education and training; Health care and social assistance industry.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, industry
		March Quarter 2022		June Quarter 2022
		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	np	np	np	np
	Other mining	0.2	0.7	0.1	0.5
Manufacturing
	Metal product etc (a)	np	np	np	np
	Other manufacturing	1.8	3.8	0.7	1.4
Construction		1.6	1.7	0.6	0.6
Transport, postal & warehousing		0.8	1.4	2.6	4.3
Education & training; Health care & social assistance		8.2	2.8	116.6	39.2
Other industries (a)		6.6	1.0	6.9	1.0
All industries		19.6	1.6	128.1	10.4

- 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

States and territories

Disputes occurred in seven states and territories in the June quarter, with more than four in five (94%) working days lost occurring in New South Wales.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, states and territories
	March Quarter 2022		June Quarter 2022
	Working days lost ('000)	Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)	Working days lost ('000)	Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)
New South Wales	11.7	3.1	120.6	31.2
Victoria	np	np	2.9	0.9
Queensland	2.9	1.2	0.6	0.2
South Australia	1.5	1.8	1.8	2.3
Western Australia	np	np	1.3	0.9
Tasmania	-	-	-	-
Northern Territory	-	-	0.1	0.7
Australian Capital Territory	-	-	0.7	3.3
Australia	19.6	1.6	128.1	10.4

- 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 74% of disputes (17 of 23) which ended in the March quarter 2022.

Cause of disputes which ended during the quarter
		December Quarter 2021			March Quarter 2022
		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
	Remuneration	11	np	np	6	2.2	2.9
	Employment conditions	31	8.5	27.3	11	0.9	2.4
	Other	2	0.1	0.1	-	-	-
Non-Enterprise Bargaining related
	Remuneration	-	-	-	1	np	np
	Employment conditions	1	np	np	1	-	-
	Health and safety	1	1.0	1.0	3	4.2	3.1
	Job security	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Managerial policy	1	44	44.1	1	np	np
	Union issues	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Other	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total		47	54.5	76.1	23	8.0	8.8

- 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 23 disputes which ended in the March quarter, 10 lasted for over 2 and less than 5 days. These disputes had:

1,100 employees involved; and
3,600 working days lost.

Working days lost for disputes which ended during the quarter
	December Quarter 2021			March Quarter 2022
	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 day	12	1.9	1.7	9	6.7	4.2
Over 1 day and up to including 2 days	12	47.4	48.5	2	np	np
Over 2 and less than 5 days	9	4.4	13.0	10	1.1	3.6
5 and less than 10 days	2	0.1	0.6	1	np	np
10 days and over	12	0.7	12.4	1	np	np
Total	47	54.5	76.1	23	8.0	8.8

np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated

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 65% of disputes (15 of 23) which ended in the March quarter 2022.

Reason work resumed for disputes which ended during the quarter
	December Quarter 2021			March Quarter 2022
	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 party	8	0.9	8.5	-	-	-
State legislation	-	-	-	-	-	-
Federal legislation	1	np	np	2	-	-
Pre-determined return to work	34	52.1	66.2	15	2.8	4.6
Resumption without negotiation	1	1.0	1.0	4	1.9	1.5
Mediation	3	np	np	2	3.3	2.6
Other reasons	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	47	54.5	76.1	23	8.0	8.8

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

Data downloads

Download all (479.35 KB)

Time Series Spreadsheets

Data files

Table 1: Industrial disputes which occurred during the period
Download xlsx [58.75 KB]
Table 2a: Industrial disputes which occurred during the period, working days lost, industry
Download xlsx [53.4 KB]
Table 2b: Industrial disputes which occurred during the period, working days lost per thousand employees, industry
Download xlsx [53.17 KB]
Table 3a: Industrial disputes which occurred during the period, working days lost, states and territories
Download xlsx [63.34 KB]
Table 3b: Industrial disputes which occurred during the period, working days lost per thousand employees, states and territories
Download xlsx [61.84 KB]
Table 4a: Industrial disputes which ended during the period, cause of dispute
Download xlsx [91.48 KB]
Table 4b: Industrial disputes which ended during the period, working days lost per employee involved
Download xlsx [63.13 KB]
Table 4c: Industrial disputes which ended during the period, reason work resumed
Download xlsx [77.94 KB]

Inquiries

For inquiries about these and related statistics, contact the Customer Assistance Service via the ABS website Contact Us page. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to us.

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6321.0.55.001.

Methodology

Industrial Disputes, Australia methodology, June 2022

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

We can provide customised data to meet your requirements

Request a quote

Microdata and TableBuilder

We can provide access to detailed, customisable data on selected topics

View available Microdata and TableBuilder

APA

Citation

Industrial Disputes, Australia

APA

Citation

Key statistics

Overview

Long-term trends

Industry

States and territories

Cause of dispute

Working days lost

Reason work resumed

Data downloads

Time Series Spreadsheets

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

Inquiries

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

Microdata and TableBuilder

Provide feedback