UK has fewer work stoppages than ever

UK work stoppages fell to 133 last year, the lowest on record, according to the June edition of Labour Market Trends out today.

This new low, which saw working days lost in 2003 total 499,100, compares with 146 stoppages (1.323 million days lost) in 2002 and 194 stoppages (525,100 days lost) in 2001.

Last year's figures are also lower than the average number of working days lost per year in the 1990s (660,000), the 1980s (7.2 million) and the 1970s (12.9 million).

The number of working days lost in the first three months in 2004 was provisionally estimated to be 372,000 from 40 stoppages, involving 135,000 workers.

Regions with the highest number of working days lost per thousand employee jobs in 2003 were Northern Ireland (101), London (51) and Scotland (39). Regions with the lowest were the North East (2), the East of England (4) and both the East Midlands and the South East (6). The average UK figure was 19 days.

Working days lost through strikes accounted for one in every 10,300 potential working days in the year 2003 - compared with one in every 3,900 in 2002. In 2003, 150,600 workers were involved in labour disputes, which compares with 942,900 in 2002. This is also a new low – the last time it was lower was 1999, when it was 141,000. It is lower than the average number involved in the 1980s and 1990s, which averaged 1.04 million and 201,600 respectively.

Some 28% of the working days lost in 2003 were in public administration, 26% were lost in education and a further 25 per cent were in transport, storage and communication.

In all, 81% of working days lost resulted from stoppages where more then 5,000 days were lost in total, but only 9% of stoppages were that large.

(gmcg)