6321.0.55.001 - Industrial Disputes, Australia, Dec 2005  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 16/03/2006   
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DECEMBER KEY FIGURES

Quarter
Year ended
September 2005
December 2005
December 2004
December 2005

Number of disputes
Commenced in period (no.)
r144
84
682
462
Total (no.)
r150
96
692
472
Employees involved
Newly involved ('000)
r68.1
102.1
193.3
240.5
Total ('000)
r68.4
102.6
194.0
241.0
Working days lost ('000)
r49.3
81.0
379.8
228.3

r revised

Working days lost
Graph: Working days lost



DECEMBER KEY POINTS


QUARTERLY ESTIMATES
  • For the December quarter 2005, there were 96 disputes, 54 less than in the September quarter 2005.
  • The number of employees involved in industrial disputes in the December quarter 2005 was 102,600, an increase from 68,400 in the September quarter 2005.
  • There were 81,000 working days lost due to industrial disputation in the December quarter 2005, an increase from 49,300 in the September quarter 2005.
  • The Education and Health and community services industries accounted for 25,500 (32%) of the total number of working days lost in the December quarter 2005. The Construction industry had the highest number of working days lost per thousand employees (40.1) for the quarter, followed by Coal mining (39.5) and Metal product and Machinery and equipment manufacturing (38.9).
  • In the December quarter 2005, Victoria accounted for 33,800 (42%) of working days lost. Victoria also had the highest number of working days lost per thousand employees (15.3) for the quarter.


YEAR ENDED ESTIMATES
  • During the year ended December 2005, there were 472 disputes, 220 less than in the year ended December 2004.
  • During the year ended December 2005, there were 228,300 working days lost compared with 379,800 in the year ended December 2004.


NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER) Release Date
March 2006 8 June 2006
June 2006 7 September 2006



NOTES ON ESTIMATES

ACTU 'NATIONAL DAY OF COMMUNITY PROTEST'


Industrial Disputes statistics for the December quarter 2005 include the ACTU 'National Day of Community Protest' which took place on 15 November 2005. Protest rallies took place in all capital cities and in major regional centres.


ABS data on the number of employees involved and working days lost, in respect of this dispute, are significantly lower than those reported in the media at the time of the dispute. The main reasons are:

  • Employees who took authorised leave, such as time off in lieu, extended lunch breaks or paid leave, to participate in the rallies, are excluded from ABS industrial disputes statistics.
  • Members of the general public, other than employees, who took part in the rallies, are excluded from ABS industrial disputes statistics.
  • ABS data are mainly sourced from employers. Due to widespread involvement in the rallies, it has been difficult to identify all employers whose employees were on unauthorised absence on the day.

For further information on ABS scope and collection methodology for the Industrial Disputes collection, see the Explanatory Notes.



REVISIONS

Revisions have been made to the quarterly series as a result of disputes being identified after the release of the previous issue and as a result of correcting errors in previously reported data.



INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.



TABLES


1. Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter

Number of disputes
Employees involved
Commenced in period
Total
Newly involved
Total
Working days lost
no.
no.
'000
'000
'000

December Quarter 2003
172
187
114.9
116.3
151.5
March Quarter 2004
177
187
44.6
45.2
80.4
June Quarter 2004
175
190
63.2
65.0
154.2
September Quarter 2004
188
194
56.0
56.2
93.3
December Quarter 2004
142
149
29.6
33.6
51.9
March Quarter 2005
109
119
20.3
20.8
45.1
June Quarter 2005
125
138
50.1
53.4
52.8
September Quarter 2005
r144
r150
r68.1
r68.4
r49.3
December Quarter 2005
84
96
102.1
102.6
81.0

r revised

2. Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, Industry

September Quarter 2005
December Quarter 2005
Working days lost
Working days lost per thousand employees
Working days lost
Working days lost per thousand employees
'000
'000

Mining
Coal mining
0.9
31.8
1.1
39.5
Other
0.4
4.1
0.1
0.5
Manufacturing
Metal product; Machinery and equipment
6.1
17.2
15.0
38.9
Other
r2.5
r4.1
6.4
10.3
Construction
r21.3
37.4
23.0
40.1
Transport and storage; Communication services
2.4
4.4
5.7
10.4
Education; Health and community services
r14.3
r8.7
25.5
15.4
Other industries
1.5
0.3
4.2
0.9
All industries
r49.3
r5.7
81.0
9.3

r revised

3. Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, States and territories

September Quarter 2005
December Quarter 2005
Working days lost
Working days lost per thousand employees
Working days lost
Working days lost per thousand employees
'000
'000

New South Wales
22.1
7.9
24.7
8.7
Victoria
7.8
3.6
33.8
15.3
Queensland
r2.4
r1.4
7.9
4.6
South Australia
r3.8
r5.9
1.3
2.0
Western Australia
11.1
12.7
12.0
13.4
Tasmania
-
0.2
0.1
0.6
Northern Territory
2.2
25.2
1.1
12.4
Australian Capital Territory
-
0.1
-
0.2
Australia
r49.3
r5.7
81.0
9.3

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
r revised

4. Industrial disputes which ended during the quarter(a)

June Quarter 2005
September Quarter 2005
Number of disputes
Employees involved
Working days lost
Number of disputes
Employees involved
Working days lost
no.
'000
'000
no.
'000
'000

CAUSE OF DISPUTE

Enterprise Bargaining (EB) related
Remuneration
23
12.9
23.1
26
11.6
9.5
Employment conditions (EB)
np
1.6
3.1
np
-
-
Other EB related
5
0.4
2.9
np
0.2
0.4
Non-EB related
Remuneration
5
0.5
1.0
3
0.1
0.1
Employment conditions
13
1.9
1.3
13
1.4
2.4
Health and safety
28
5.6
5.1
34
7.4
9.4
Job security
14
0.8
1.7
9
1.0
1.7
Managerial policy
26
3.2
3.1
39
3.9
5.0
Union issues
15
8.7
4.8
10
1.2
1.0
Other non-EB related
np
0.1
-
np
62.3
31.1
Total
132
35.8
46.0
138
89.1
60.7

WORKING DAYS LOST PER EMPLOYEE INVOLVED

Up to and including 1 day
78
21.1
10.0
75
80.4
41.6
Over 1 day and up to and including 2 days
33
12.5
22.7
36
5.1
8.1
Over 2 and less than 5 days
16
1.6
5.0
22
3.5
9.6
5 and less than 10 days
np
0.1
0.6
np
0.1
1.0
10 days and over
np
0.5
7.7
np
-
0.3
Total
132
35.8
46.0
138
89.1
60.7

REASON WORK RESUMED

Negotiation without intervention of a third party
28
3.0
10.3
35
5.0
5.9
State legislation
14
1.9
2.4
10
1.3
2.7
Federal legislation
11
1.4
1.7
16
3.3
7.3
Pre-determined return to work
27
13.0
20.6
25
3.0
3.4
Resumption without negotiation
41
14.4
7.9
40
75.6
39.8
Mediation
11
2.0
3.1
9
0.7
1.5
Other reasons
-
-
-
3
0.2
0.2
Total
132
35.8
46.0
138
89.1
60.7

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
(a) See Explanatory Notes, paragraph 12