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
March 2023
Released
8/06/2023

Key statistics

In the March quarter 2023:

  • 41 disputes occurred.
  • 4,700 employees were involved and 7,700 working days lost.
  • disputes occurred in 7 industries and in 8 states and territories.

During the year ended March 2023, there were 198 disputes and a total of 184,900 working days lost.

 QuarterYear ended
December Quarter 2022March Quarter 2023March Quarter 2022March Quarter 2023
Number of disputes (no.)
 Newr5333128191
 Total r6841134198
Employees involved ('000)
 Newr18.44.178.4115.0
 Total r21.64.778.9117.4
Working days lost ('000) r21.07.7117.0184.9

r  revised 

Revisions

Minor revisions have been made to the December quarter 2022 data as a result of new information received from organisations.  These revisions are reflected in both the tables of this publication and the associated time series spreadsheets.

Overview

In the March quarter 2023, there were:

  • 41 disputes, 27 less than the previous quarter.
  • 4,700 employees involved, a decrease from 21,600 the previous quarter.
  • 7,700 working days lost, a decrease from 21,000 in the previous quarter.

Year ended estimates:

  • 198 disputes occurred, 64 more than in the previous year.
  • 184,900 working days were lost, 67,900 more than in the previous year.

 Number of disputesEmployees involvedWorking days lost 
New (no.)Total (no.)New ('000)Total ('000)('000)
March Quarter 202122242.32.719.2
June Quarter 202130366.06.410.4
September Quarter 2021395011.713.318.5
December Quarter 2021375550.657.268.5
March Quarter 2022223010.111.419.6
June Quarter 2022455271.273.7128.1
September Quarter 2022607021.222.228.1
December Quarter 2022r53r68r18.4r21.6r21.0
March Quarter 202333414.14.77.7

r  revised 

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 March quarter, disputes occurred in seven industries. Almost a third (28%) of the total working days lost were in the Manufacturing: Metal product etc industry.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, industry
 December Quarter 2022March Quarter 2023
Working days lostWorking days lost per thousand employeesWorking days lostWorking days lost per thousand employees
('000)(*)(no.)('000)(no.)
Mining
 Coal mining0.11.3--
 Other miningnpnpnpnp
Manufacturing
 Metal product etc (a)npnp2.26.6
 Other manufacturing6.212.10.30.6
Construction2.52.31.71.6
Transport, postal & warehousing0.91.41.01.6
Education & training; Health care & social assistance8.62.81.30.4
Other industries (a)r2.10.3npnp
All industriesr21.01.77.70.6

r  revised

-     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
(*)  Working days lost per thousand employees series has been revised

States and territories

Disputes occurred in eight states and territories in the March quarter, with nearly a third (32%) of the total working days lost occurring in New South Wales.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, states and territories
 December Quarter 2022March Quarter 2023
Working days lostWorking days lost per thousand employeesWorking days lostWorking days lost per thousand employees
('000)(*)(no.)('000)(no.)
New South Walesr6.41.62.50.6
Victoriar5.11.62.20.7
Queensland2.81.11.60.6
South Australia0.81.00.60.8
Western Australia3.22.30.80.6
Tasmania2.07.5--
Northern Territory0.53.7--
Australian Capital Territoryr0.2r0.9--
Australiar21.01.77.70.6

r  revised

-     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 per thousand employees series has been revised

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 95% of disputes (57 of 60) which ended in the December quarter 2022.

 September Quarter 2022December 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
 Remuneration173.810.1171.62.8
 Employment conditions316.415.13723.220.2
 Other 1npnp30.50.2
Non-Enterprise Bargaining related
 Remuneration------
 Employment conditions1npnp1-0.1
 Health and safety1npnp---
 Job security------
 Managerial policy348.192.010.40.5
 Union issues------
 Other1npnp11.00.6
Total 5559.2118.26026.724.4

-     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 60 disputes which ended in the December quarter, 22 lasted up to and including 1 day. These disputes had:

  • 22,700 employees involved; and
  • 11,300 working days lost.
Working days lost for disputes which ended during the quarter
 September Quarter 2022December 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 day215.84.92222.711.3
Over 1 day and up to including 2 days1350.995.4131.52.1
Over 2 and less than 5 days10npnp152.16.9
5 and less than 10 days91.19.670.21.6
10 days and over2npnp30.12.5
Total5559.2118.26026.724.4

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 82% of disputes (49 of 60) which ended in the December quarter 2022. 

 

Reason work resumed for disputes which ended during the quarter
 September Quarter 2022December 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 party2npnp61.56.8
State legislation------
Federal legislation1npnp20.10.2
Pre-determined return to work4958.2116.54923.816.0
Resumption without negotiation20.70.831.41.4
Mediation1-----
Other reasons------
Total5559.2118.26026.724.4

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

Data downloads

Time Series Spreadsheets

Data files

Enquiries

For enquiries 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.

Back to top of the page