6321.0.55.001 - Industrial Disputes, Australia, Sep 2005  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 08/12/2005   
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PLEASE NOTE: These statistics include the 'National Week of Action' campaign which took place in the week of 27 June to 1 July. See ACTU 'NATIONAL WEEK OF ACTION' CAMPAIGN for important information on the treatment of this dispute in ABS industrial disputes statistics.




SEPTEMBER KEY FIGURES

Quarter
Year ended
June 2005
September 2005
September 2004
September 2005

Number of disputes
Commenced in period (no.)
r125
142
712
518
Total (no.)
r138
148
727
525
Employees involved
Newly involved ('000)
r50.1
76.5
278.6
176.4
Total ('000)
r53.4
76.8
280.0
180.4
Working days lost ('000)
r52.8
53.9
479.4
203.3

r revised

Working days lost
Graph: Graph Working days lost



SEPTEMBER KEY POINTS


QUARTERLY ESTIMATES
  • For the September quarter 2005, there were 148 disputes, 10 more than in the June quarter 2005.
  • The number of employees involved in industrial disputes in the September quarter 2005 was 76,800, an increase from 53,400 in the June quarter 2005.
  • There were 53,900 working days lost due to industrial disputation in the September quarter 2005, an increase from 52,800 in the June quarter 2005.
  • The Construction industry accounted for 21,200 (39%) of the total number of working days lost in the September quarter 2005. The Construction industry also had the highest number of working days lost per thousand employees (37.4) for the quarter.
  • In the September quarter 2005, New South Wales accounted for 22,100 (41%) of working days lost. The Northern Territory had the highest number of working days lost per thousand employees (25.2) for the quarter.


YEAR ENDED ESTIMATES
  • During the year ended September 2005, there were 525 disputes, 202 less than in the year ended September 2004.
  • During the year ended September 2005, there were 203,300 working days lost compared with 479,400 in the year ended September 2004.


NOTES

NOTES ON ESTIMATES

ACTU 'NATIONAL WEEK OF ACTION' CAMPAIGN


Industrial Disputes statistics for the June and September quarters 2005 include the ACTU 'National Week of Action' campaign which took place in the week of 27 June to 1 July. The main form of action was a series of 1-2 hour lunch-time protest rallies in capital cities and major regional centres, on a state by state rotating basis.


NSW and ACT rallies took place on 1 July, and are reflected in the September quarter 2005 industrial disputes statistics. Rallies in other states took place at the end of June and are reflected in the June quarter 2005 industrial disputes statistics. In addition to the rallies, there were a small number of one day stoppages.


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 campaign, 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 is mainly sourced from employers. Due to the widespread nature of the campaign, it has been difficult to identify all employers whose employees were on unauthorised absence when attending the rallies.

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

September Quarter 2003
180
193
104.4
107.9
166.2
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
r125
r138
r50.1
r53.4
r52.8
September Quarter 2005
142
148
76.5
76.8
53.9

r revised

2. Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, Industry

June Quarter 2005
September 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
1.7
61.6
0.9
31.8
Other
0.5
5.5
0.4
4.1
Manufacturing
Metal product; Machinery and equipment
r13.8
r40.5
6.1
17.2
Other
6.8
10.4
2.4
3.9
Construction
19.4
32.8
21.2
37.4
Transport and storage; Communication services
1.9
3.3
2.4
4.4
Education; Health and community services
5.3
3.3
19.0
11.6
Other industries
r3.6
r0.7
1.5
0.3
All industries
r52.8
r6.1
53.9
6.2

r revised

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

June Quarter 2005
September 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
r7.6
r2.7
22.1
7.9
Victoria
25.8
11.6
7.8
3.6
Queensland
r7.5
r4.5
2.2
1.3
South Australia
0.9
1.3
8.4
13.2
Western Australia
9.0
10.2
11.1
12.7
Tasmania
0.8
4.1
-
0.2
Northern Territory
1.2
13.8
2.2
25.2
Australian Capital Territory
-
0.1
-
0.1
Australia
r52.8
r6.1
53.9
6.2

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

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

March Quarter 2005
June 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
13
2.2
14.9
23
12.9
23.1
Employment conditions (EB)
3
0.1
4.0
np
1.6
3.1
Other EB related
4
0.4
1.0
5
0.4
2.9
Non-EB related
Remuneration
8
3.2
16.0
5
0.5
1.0
Employment conditions
np
0.5
1.7
13
1.9
1.3
Health and safety
27
3.5
4.9
28
5.6
5.1
Job security
8
1.6
1.0
14
0.8
1.7
Managerial policy
23
3.9
4.5
26
3.2
3.1
Union issues
15
2.6
2.1
15
8.7
4.8
Other non-EB related
np
0.9
1.2
np
0.1
-
Total
106
18.9
51.3
132
35.8
46.0

WORKING DAYS LOST PER EMPLOYEE INVOLVED

Up to and including 1 day
56
9.8
6.8
78
21.1
10.0
Over 1 day and up to and including 2 days
21
2.8
4.0
33
12.5
22.7
Over 2 and less than 5 days
17
2.8
9.4
16
1.6
5.0
5 and less than 10 days
6
2.8
16.5
np
0.1
0.6
10 days and over
6
0.7
14.5
np
0.5
7.7
Total
106
18.9
51.3
132
35.8
46.0

REASON WORK RESUMED

Negotiation without intervention of a third party
25
3.4
9.4
28
3.0
10.3
State legislation
np
1.0
1.9
14
1.9
2.4
Federal legislation
14
5.4
21.8
11
1.4
1.7
Pre-determined return to work
10
1.8
4.7
27
13.0
20.6
Resumption without negotiation
39
5.8
6.4
41
14.4
7.9
Mediation
10
1.4
6.5
11
2.0
3.1
Other reasons
np
0.1
0.6
-
-
-
Total
106
18.9
51.3
132
35.8
46.0

- 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