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
December 2022
Released
9/03/2023

Key statistics

In the December quarter 2022:

  • 69 disputes occurred.
  • 22,200 employees were involved and 21,300 working days lost.
  • disputes occurred in 8 industries and in 8 states and territories.

During the year ended December 2022, there were 189 disputes and a total of 197,000 working days lost.

 QuarterYear ended
September Quarter 2022December Quarter 2022December Quarter 2021December Quarter 2022
Number of disputes (no.)
 New6054128181
 Total 7069130189
Employees involved ('000)
 New21.219.070.7121.6
 Total 22.222.271.1122.9
Working days lost ('000) 28.121.3116.6197.0

Revision to working days lost per thousand employees series

The quarterly Labour Force estimates underwent major rebenchmarking for the November quarter 2022 release. This was due to applying rebased Estimated Residential Population benchmarks based on 2021 Census data. As a result, the Industrial Disputes working days lost per thousand employees time series has been revised from September quarter 2017 onwards. These updates are reflected in this release and the associated time series spreadsheets. 

Guide to labour statistics

To learn more about our different labour measures, their purpose and how to use them, see our Guide to labour statistics. It provides summary information on labour market topics including Industry employment and Earnings data.

Overview

In the December quarter 2022, there were:

  • 69 disputes, 1 less than the previous quarter.
  • 22,200 employees involved, which is the same as the previous quarter.
  • 21,300 working days lost, a decrease from 28,100 in the previous quarter.

Year ended estimates:

  • 189 disputes occurred, 59 more than in the previous year.
  • 197,000 working days were lost, 80,400 more 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 202027322.22.616.5
March Quarter 202122242.32.719.2
June Quarter 202130366.06.410.4
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 2022546919.022.221.3

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 eight industries. Over a third (40.5%) of the total working days lost were in the Education and training; Health care and social assistance industry.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, industry
 September Quarter 2022December Quarter 2022
Working days lostWorking days lost per thousand employeesWorking days lostWorking days lost per thousand employees
('000)(*)(no.)('000)(no.)
Mining
 Coal miningnpnp0.11.3
 Other miningnpnpnpnp
Manufacturing
 Metal product etc (a)1.86.0npnp
 Other manufacturing1.01.96.212.1
Construction3.13.02.52.3
Transport, postal & warehousing1.93.10.91.4
Education & training; Health care & social assistance7.62.58.62.8
Other industries (a)4.10.62.20.3
All industries28.12.321.31.7

-     nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
np  not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
(a)  see Glossary - Industry - for details of industries included
(*)  Working days lost per thousand employees series has been revised

States and territories

Disputes occurred in eight states and territories in the December quarter, with nearly a third (29.5%) of the total working days lost occurring in New South Wales.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, states and territories
 September Quarter 2022December Quarter 2022
Working days lostWorking days lost per thousand employeesWorking days lostWorking days lost per thousand employees
('000)(*)(no.)('000)(no.)
New South Wales14.63.86.31.6
Victoria2.50.85.21.6
Queensland2.41.02.81.1
South Australia2.02.40.81.0
Western Australianpnp3.22.3
Tasmania2.39.22.07.5
Northern Territory1.713.50.53.7
Australian Capital Territorynpnp0.41.8
Australia28.12.321.31.7

-     nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
np  not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
(*)  Working days lost per thousand employees series has been revised

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 89% of disputes (49 of 55) which ended in the September quarter 2022.

 June Quarter 2022September Quarter 2022
Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)
Enterprise Bargaining related
 Remuneration119.39.4173.810.1
 Employment conditions2619.739.2316.415.1
 Other ---1npnp
Non-Enterprise Bargaining related
 Remuneration------
 Employment conditions---1npnp
 Health and safety10.30.21npnp
 Job security1npnp---
 Managerial policy20.10.1348.192.0
 Union issues------
 Other1npnp1npnp
Total 4229.548.95559.2118.2

Working days lost

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

Of the 55 disputes which ended in the September quarter, 21 lasted up to and including 1 day. These disputes had:

  • 5,800 employees involved; and
  • 4,900 working days lost.
Working days lost for disputes which ended during the quarter
 June Quarter 2022September Quarter 2022
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 day2713.713.2215.84.9
Over 1 day and up to including 2 days310.018.41350.995.4
Over 2 and less than 5 days85.311.710npnp
5 and less than 10 days30.31.691.19.6
10 days and over10.23.92npnp
Total4229.548.95559.2118.2

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 89% of disputes (49 of 55) which ended in the September quarter 2022. 

 

Reason work resumed for disputes which ended during the quarter
 June Quarter 2022September Quarter 2022
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 party50.34.12npnp
State legislation------
Federal legislation---1npnp
Pre-determined return to work3729.244.84958.2116.5
Resumption without negotiation---20.70.8
Mediation---1--
Other reasons------
Total4229.548.95559.2118.2

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

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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