Minister hails lowest recorded strike days

Industrial strike action has reached its lowest level since records began, the Government revealed today.

Minister for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen confirmed the number of days lost to disputes last year was the lowest since 1923.

The latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures show 7,352 working days were lost during 10 strikes, affecting 1,186 workers in 2006.

The construction industry accounted for almost two thirds (65%) of days lost last year in industrial action.

Minister Killeen said it wasn’t uncommon up to 15 years ago for more than 200,000 strike days to hit business every year. “This exceptionally high figure came at a time when the number of people in employment barely exceeded half of today’s two million at work,” he said.

“The formulation and implementation of partnership agreements has played a key part in resolving industrial disputes and ensuring a considerable reduction in strike days lost.”

There were 1,090 days lost in the fourth quarter of last year compared with 22,588 days lost in the same period in 2005.

But Mr Kileen warned there was no room for complacency in the current climate of relatively stable industrial relations.

He added: “The CSO figures also show the willingness of employers, workers and trade unions to resolve potential disputes either at workplace level or, if necessary, through the utilisation of the available dispute settling services, such as the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court.”