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
March 2024
Released
12/06/2024

Key statistics

In the March quarter 2024:

  • 48 disputes occurred.
  • 12,800 employees were involved and 16,800 working days lost.
  • disputes occurred in 6 industries and in 7 states and territories.

During the year ended March 2024, there were 207 disputes and a total of 108,300 working days lost.

Key statistics
  QuarterYear ended
  December Quarter 2023March Quarter 2024March Quarter 2023March Quarter 2024
Number of disputes (no.)  
 New4736191193
 Total 6748198207
Employees involved ('000)  
 New14.310.6115.051.8
 Total 18.612.8117.452.9
Working days lost ('000)  44.216.8184.9108.3

Overview

In the March quarter 2024, there were:

  • 48 disputes, a decrease from 67 in the previous quarter.
  • 12,800 employees involved, a decrease from 18,600 in the previous quarter.
  • 16,800 working days lost, a decrease from 44,200 in the previous quarter.

Year ended estimates:

  • 207 disputes occurred, 9 more than in the previous year.
  • 108,300 working days were lost, 76,600 less 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)
March Quarter 2022223010.111.419.6
June Quarter 2022455271.273.7128.1
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

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 six industries.  Over a third (42%) of the total working days lost were in the Other Industries industry.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, industry
  December Quarter 2023March 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----
 Other miningnpnp--
Manufacturing  
 Metal product etc (a)npnp0.61.8
 Other manufacturing12.823.20.10.1
Construction 2.52.33.23.0
Transport, postal & warehousing 13.319.95.48.3
Education & training; Health care & social assistance 9.22.80.40.1
Other industries (a) 3.80.67.11.0
All industries 44.23.416.81.3

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

States and territories

Disputes occurred in seven states and territories in the March quarter, with over half (56%) of the total working days lost occurring in Queensland.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, states and territories
 December Quarter 2023March 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 Wales5.01.22.10.5
Victoria18.55.42.40.7
Queensland11.04.29.43.6
South Australia5.26.00.10.1
Western Australia3.92.72.71.8
Tasmania0.31.1npnp
Northern Territory0.10.5--
Australian Capital Territory0.31.2npnp
Australia44.23.416.81.3

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

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 91% of disputes (50 of 55) which ended in the December quarter 2023.

Cause of dispute for disputes which ended during the quarter
  September Quarter 2023December Quarter 2023
  Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)
EB(a) related  
 Remuneration141.55.1202.49.4
 Employment conditions239.717.53012.437.9
 Other ------
Non-EB(a) related  
 Remuneration1npnp---
 Employment conditions2npnp---
 Health and safety41.11.820.1-
 Job security------
 Managerial policy---10.1-
 Union issues10.30.2---
 Other21.71.522.11.4
Total 4714.326.35517.048.8

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

Working days lost

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

Of the 55 disputes which ended in the December quarter, 18 lasted up to and including 1 day. These disputes had:

  • 8,400 employees involved; and
  • 7,300 working days lost.
Working days lost for disputes which ended during the quarter
 September Quarter 2023December Quarter 2023
 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 day2010.17.7188.47.3
Over 1 day and up to including 2 days61.82.8123.74.5
Over 2 and less than 5 days141.55.1113.110.2
5 and less than 10 days20.10.680.86.5
10 days and over50.810.061.020.3
Total4714.326.35517.048.8

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 84% of disputes (46 of 55) which ended in the December quarter 2023. 

Reason work resumed for disputes which ended during the quarter
 September Quarter 2023December Quarter 2023
 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 party81.64.85npnp
State legislation------
Federal legislation------
Pre-determined return to work3612.621.44616.536.3
Resumption without negotiation30.10.120.310.3
Mediation---2npnp
Other reasons------
Total4714.326.35517.048.8

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

Data downloads

Time Series Spreadsheets

Data files

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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6321.0.55.001.

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