Industrial Disputes, Australia

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
December 2023
Released
14/03/2024
  • Next Release 12/06/2024
    Industrial Disputes, Australia, March 2024
  • Next Release 11/09/2024
    Industrial Disputes, Australia, June 2024
  • View all releases

Key statistics

In the December quarter 2023:

  • 67 disputes occurred.
  • 18,600 employees were involved and 44,200 working days lost.
  • disputes occurred in 7 industries and in 8 states and territories.

During the year ended December 2023, there were 198 disputes and a total of 99,300 working days lost.

Key statistics
  QuarterYear ended
  September Quarter 2023December Quarter 2023December Quarter 2022December Quarter 2023
Number of disputes (no.)  
 New5347180190
 Total 6767188198
Employees involved ('000)  
 New17.414.3121.045.3
 Total 18.818.6122.446.0
Working days lost ('000)  37.144.2196.899.3

Overview

In the December quarter 2023, there were:

  • 67 disputes, the same as the previous quarter.
  • 18,600 employees involved, a decrease from 18,800 in the previous quarter.
  • 44,200 working days lost, an increase from 37,100 in the previous quarter.

Year ended estimates:

  • 198 disputes occurred, 10 more than in the previous year.
  • 99,300 working days were lost, 97,500 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)
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
December Quarter 2023476714.318.644.2

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 December quarter, disputes occurred in seven industries.  Over a quarter (30%) of the total working days lost were in the Transport, postal and warehousing industry.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, industry
  September Quarter 2023December 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 miningnpnp--
 Other mining1.56.0npnp
Manufacturing  
 Metal product etc (a)3.310.4npnp
 Other manufacturing2.44.312.823.2
Construction 3.93.62.52.3
Transport, postal & warehousing 9.815.613.319.9
Education & training; Health care & social assistance 9.12.99.22.8
Other industries (a) npnp3.80.6
All industries 37.12.944.23.4

(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 eight states and territories in the December quarter, with over a third (42%) of the total working days lost occurring in Victoria.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, states and territories
 September Quarter 2023December 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 Wales11.32.85.01.2
Victoria8.12.418.55.4
Queensland8.13.211.04.2
South Australia6.47.45.26.0
Western Australia1.91.43.92.7
Tasmania0.62.40.31.1
Northern Territory0.10.50.10.5
Australian Capital Territory0.62.30.31.2
Australia37.12.944.23.4

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 79% of disputes (37 of 47) which ended in the September quarter 2023.

Cause of dispute for disputes which ended during the quarter
  June Quarter 2023September 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  
 Remuneration100.50.6141.55.1
 Employment conditions372.96.1239.717.5
 Other ------
Non-EB(a) related  
 Remuneration12.11.51npnp
 Employment conditions---2npnp
 Health and safety62.41.941.11.8
 Job security------
 Managerial policy------
 Union issues---10.30.2
 Other31.10.721.71.5
Total 579.010.74714.326.3

(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 47 disputes which ended in the September quarter, 20 lasted up to and including 1 day. These disputes had:

  • 10,100 employees involved; and
  • 7,700 working days lost.
Working days lost for disputes which ended during the quarter
 June Quarter 2023September 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 day317.34.82010.17.7
Over 1 day and up to including 2 days120.81.361.82.8
Over 2 and less than 5 days60.62.1141.55.1
5 and less than 10 days7npnp20.10.6
10 days and over1npnp50.810.0
Total579.010.74714.326.3

(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 77% of disputes (36 of 47) which ended in the September quarter 2023. 

Reason work resumed for disputes which ended during the quarter
 June Quarter 2023September 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 party40.71.081.64.8
State legislation------
Federal legislation------
Pre-determined return to work507.29.03612.621.4
Resumption without negotiation31.10.730.10.1
Mediation------
Other reasons------
Total579.010.74714.326.3

(-) 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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