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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
September 2023
Released
14/12/2023

Key statistics

In the September quarter 2023:

  • 67 disputes occurred.
  • 18,800 employees were involved and 37,100 working days lost.
  • disputes occurred in 8 industries and in 8 states and territories.

During the year ended September 2023, there were 211 disputes and a total of 76,100 working days lost.

Key statistics
 Quarter Year ended 
 Jun Quarter 2023Sep Quarter 2023Sep Quarter 2022Sep Quarter 2023
Number of disputes (no.)    
 New5753164196
 Total7167182211
Employees involved ('000)    
 New9.617.4153.249.4
 Total10.518.8159.852.7
Working days lost     ('000)10.237.1244.276.1

Overview

In the September quarter 2023, there were:

  • 67 disputes, 4 less than the previous quarter.
  • 18,800 employees involved, an increase from 10,500 in the previous quarter.
  • 37,100 working days lost, an increase from 10,200 in the previous quarter.

Year ended estimates:

  • 211 disputes occurred, 29 more than in the previous year.
  • 76,100 working days were lost, 168,100 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)
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 2022536818.421.621.0
March Quarter 202333414.14.77.7
June Quarter 202357719.610.510.2
September Quarter 2023536717.418.837.1

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 eight industries.  Over a quarter (27%) of the total working days lost were in the Transport, postal and warehousing industry.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, industry
  June Quarter 2023September Quarter 2023
  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--npnp
 Other miningnpnp1.56.0
Manufacturing    
 Metal product etc (a)0.72.23.310.4
 Other manufacturingnpnp2.44.3
Construction3.73.43.93.6
Transport, postal & warehousing1.62.69.815.6
Education & training; Health care & social assistance2.60.89.12.9
Other industries (a)1.10.2npnp
All industries10.20.837.12.9

- 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 eight states and territories in the September quarter, with just over a third (31%) of the total working days lost occurring in New South Wales.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, states and territories
 June Quarter 2023September Quarter 2023
 Working days lost ('000)Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)Working days lost ('000)Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)
New South Wales2.50.611.32.8
Victoria2.70.88.12.4
Queensland3.21.38.13.2
South Australia0.50.66.47.4
Western Australia0.90.61.91.4
Tasmanianpnp0.62.4
Northern Territory0.10.70.10.5
Australian Capital Territorynpnp0.62.3
Australia10.20.837.12.9

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 82% of disputes (47 of 57) which ended in the June quarter 2023.

Cause of dispute for disputes which ended during the quarter
  March Quarter 2023June 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      
 Remuneration40.20.1100.50.6
 Employment conditions191.73.4372.96.1
 Other------
Non-EB(a) related      
 Remuneration---12.11.5
 Employment conditions------
 Health and safety11.20.862.41.9
 Job security------
 Managerial policy10.3----
 Union issues1-----
 Other10.20.231.10.7
Total273.54.4579.010.7

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Enterprise Bargaining (EB)

Working days lost

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

Of the 57 disputes which ended in the June quarter, 31 lasted up to and including 1 day. These disputes had:

  • 7,300 employees involved; and
  • 4,800 working days lost.
Working days lost for disputes which ended during the quarter
 March Quarter 2023June 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 day182.91.8317.34.8
Over 1 day and up to including 2 days20.20.3120.81.3
Over 2 and less than 5 days40.41.660.62.1
5 and less than 10 days2-0.27npnp
10 days and over10.10.61npnp
Total273.54.4579.010.7

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
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 88% of disputes (50 of 57) which ended in the June quarter 2023. 

Reason work resumed for disputes which ended during the quarter
 March Quarter 2023June 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 party11.20.840.71.0
State legislation------
Federal legislation------
Pre-determined return to work242.23.5507.29.0
Resumption without negotiation20.20.231.10.7
Mediation------
Other reasons------
Total273.54.4579.010.7

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells) 

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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6321.0.55.001.

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