Industrial disputes down, days lost increase

LAST year saw the lowest number of industrial disputes since records began, but days lost to strike action still rose by more than 16,000 due to health service disputes.

According to the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) annual report launched yesterday, last year saw just 24 disputes, the lowest number since records began in 1923. However, despite the actual number of disputes dropping, the number of days lost to industrial disputes rose significantly, largely due to health sector strikes including the ten-week public health doctor dispute.

Last year saw 37,482 days lost to industrial action compared with just 21,257 the previous year. The health sector accounted for a massive 42% (15,778) of the total days.