6321.0.55.001 - Industrial Disputes, Australia, Jun 2006  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 07/09/2006   
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PLEASE NOTE: These statistics include the 'National Day of Community Protest' which took place on 28 June 2006. See ACTU 'NATIONAL DAY OF COMMUNITY PROTEST' for important information on the treatment of this dispute in ABS industrial disputes statistics.


JUNE KEY FIGURES

Quarter
Year ended
March 2006
June 2006
June 2005
June 2006

Number of disputes
Commenced in period (no.)
r99
20
564
346
Total (no.)
r101
23
569
352
Employees involved
Newly involved ('000)
r18.9
37.4
155.8
224.3
Total ('000)
r19.0
37.5
156.0
224.7
Working days lost ('000)
r30.1
27.9
243.0
187.1

r revised

Working days lost
Graph: Graph Working days lost



JUNE KEY POINTS


QUARTERLY ESTIMATES
  • For the June quarter 2006, there were 23 disputes, 78 less than in the March quarter 2006.
  • The number of employees involved in industrial disputes in the June quarter 2006 was 37,500, an increase from 19,000 in the March quarter 2006.
  • There were 27,900 working days lost due to industrial disputation in the June quarter 2006, a decrease from 30,100 in the March quarter 2006.
  • The Education and Health and community services industries accounted for 14,000 (50%) of the total number of working days lost in the June quarter 2006. The Coal mining industry had the highest number of working days lost per thousand employees (48.1) for the quarter.
  • In the June quarter 2006, New South Wales accounted for 16,500 (59%) of working days lost. The Australian Capital Territory had the highest number of working days lost per thousand employees (6.7) for the quarter, followed closely by Northern Territory (5.9) and New South Wales (5.7).


YEAR ENDED ESTIMATES
  • During the year ended June 2006, there were 352 disputes, 217 less than in the year ended June 2005.
  • During the year ended June 2006, there were 187,100 working days lost compared with 243,000 in the year ended June 2005.


NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER) Release Date
September 2006 7 December 2006
December 2006 15 March 2007



NOTES ON ESTIMATES

ACTU 'NATIONAL DAY OF COMMUNITY PROTEST'


Industrial Disputes statistics for the June quarter 2006 include the ACTU 'National Day of Community Protest' which took place on 28th June 2006. 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

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
144
150
68.1
68.4
49.3
December Quarter 2005
84
96
102.1
102.6
81.0
March Quarter 2006
r99
r101
r18.9
r19.0
r30.1
June Quarter 2006
20
23
37.4
37.5
27.9

r revised

2. Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, Industry

March Quarter 2006
June Quarter 2006
Working days lost
Working days lost per thousand employees
Working days lost
Working days lost per thousand employees
'000
'000

Mining
Coal mining
0.1
3.9
1.4
48.1
Other
0.1
0.7
0.7
6.6
Manufacturing
Metal product; Machinery and equipment
11.0
29.8
5.0
13.2
Other
4.1
6.7
0.5
0.9
Construction
3.5
5.7
4.6
7.6
Transport and storage; Communication services
7.1
12.4
0.5
0.8
Education; Health and community services
1.3
0.8
14.0
8.2
Other industries
r2.9
r0.6
1.1
0.2
All industries
r30.1
3.4
27.9
3.1

r revised

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

March Quarter 2006
June Quarter 2006
Working days lost
Working days lost per thousand employees
Working days lost
Working days lost per thousand employees
'000
'000

New South Wales
r5.6
r2.0
16.5
5.7
Victoria
13.4
6.0
7.9
3.6
Queensland
6.0
3.5
0.5
0.3
South Australia
1.0
1.5
0.2
0.3
Western Australia
2.3
2.5
1.1
1.2
Tasmania
0.6
3.4
-
-
Northern Territory
-
0.3
0.5
5.9
Australian Capital Territory
1.2
7.1
1.2
6.7
Australia
r30.1
3.4
27.9
3.1

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

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

December Quarter 2005
March Quarter 2006
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
27
11.7
11.7
19
8.9
12.4
Employment conditions (EB)
np
0.8
5.9
7
1.5
2.2
Other EB related
4
0.3
0.7
3
1.2
8.6
Non-EB related
Remuneration
3
0.6
0.2
3
0.8
0.3
Employment conditions
np
0.4
0.2
9
0.7
0.5
Health and safety
19
3.1
7.1
13
1.4
2.0
Job security
4
0.6
0.6
12
1.3
0.6
Managerial policy
26
3.0
2.8
30
2.6
7.6
Union issues
3
0.2
0.2
np
0.2
1.0
Other non-EB related
4
83.1
53.4
np
0.4
0.2
Total
94
103.8
82.8
100
19.0
35.4

WORKING DAYS LOST PER EMPLOYEE INVOLVED

Up to and including 1 day
52
97.1
60.7
60
10.1
6.0
Over 1 day and up to and including 2 days
27
4.4
7.0
21
7.0
8.0
Over 2 and less than 5 days
10
1.6
6.2
13
0.9
2.7
5 and less than 10 days
np
0.5
3.5
np
0.2
1.7
10 days and over
np
0.2
5.4
np
0.7
17.1
Total
94
103.8
82.8
100
19.0
35.4

REASON WORK RESUMED

Negotiation without intervention of a third party
18
3.2
4.3
22
2.1
6.6
State legislation
9
0.9
1.2
13
1.4
1.1
Federal legislation
15
2.0
10.1
15
2.1
3.0
Pre-determined return to work
18
5.2
5.0
12
2.3
2.4
Resumption without negotiation
25
90.7
58.5
30
10.2
21.5
Mediation
np
1.7
3.7
8
0.8
0.8
Other reasons
np
0.2
0.1
-
-
-
Total
94
103.8
82.8
100
19.0
35.4

- 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