It is not known how many working days have been lost due to trade union strikes in each of the last nine years. However, the following table gives the number of working days lost due to all labour disputes from 1997 to 2005. Labour disputes include official and unofficial strikes and cases of ‘lock-outs’, that is, where an employer prevents their employees from working by refusing entry to the place of work.
Working days lost (Thousand) 1997 235 1998 282 1999 242 2000 499 2001 525 2002 1323 2003 499 2004 905 2005 157 Source: Office for National Statistics, Labour Disputes Inquiry
It is not known how many working days have been lost due to trade union strikes in each of the last 12 months. However, the following table gives the number of working days lost due to all labour disputes in each of the last 12 months. Labour disputes include official and unofficial strikes and cases of 'lock-outs', that is, where an employer prevents their employees from working by refusing entry to the place of work.
Working days lost (Thousand) 2005 December 15 2006 January 177 February 114 March 1482 April 13 May 183 June 16 July 111 August 16 September 123 October 113 November 124 Cumulative total 12 months to November 20062 1756 1 Provisional. 2 The latest 12-month cumulative total will not necessarily equal the sum of the 12 months as some disputes continue for over one month. These disputes appear in each month's data, but only once in the total. Source: Office for National Statistics, Labour Disputes Inquiry.