Industrial Disputes 9. Mr. Teddy Taylor asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total number of hours lost in industrial disputes in 1981; and by what percentage this figure exceeds or is less than the comparable figures five and 10 years previously. Mr. Waddington The figures are recorded in days rather than hours lost. The provisional number of working days lost in industrial stoppages in 1981 is nearly 4ยท2 million. This is 28 per cent. more than in 1976, but 69 per cent. less than in 1971. Apart from 1976, fewer days were lost through strikes in 1981 than in any year since 1969.