§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will publish a table of figures showing the total number of strikes, days lost through industrial disputes, the number of workers involved, and the causes of these disputes in each of the first 11 months of 1976 and 1977.
§ Mr. GoldingProvisional estimates of the number of stoppages of work due
STOPPAGES OF WORK DUE TO INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES IN THE FIRST 10 MONTHS OF 1976 AND 1977 Stoppages in progress Number of stoppages beginning in the month Number of workers involved Number of working days lost 1976 1977 1976 1977 1976 1977 January … 166 229 80,000 96,000 324,000 435,000 February … 154 260 69,000 148,000 240,000 770,000 March … 203 266 74,000 142,000 304,000 1,046,000 April … 157 196 68,000 86,000 298,000 620,000 May … 156 242 49,000 101,000 200,000 680,000 June … 175 172 56,000 93,000 224,000 517,000 July … 162 151 57,000 55,000 219,000 304,000 August … 172 293 78,000 118,000 321,000 852,000 September 179 248 94,000 162,000 385,000 1,240,000 October … 190 252 59,000 157,000 254,000 950,000 The figures for 1977 are provisional and subject to revision, normally upwards.
ANALYSIS OF STOPPAGES BY CAUSE Beginning in the first 10 months of 1977 Beginning in the 12 months of 1976 Number of stoppages Number of workers directly involved Number of stoppages Number workers directly innvolved Pay— (1) wage-rates and earnings levels … 1,191 274,700 791 170,400 (2) extra-wage and fringe benefits … 125 122,500 84 30,900 Duration and pattern of hours worked … 40 4,300 66 7,700 Redundancy questions … … … 69 18,500 86 17,900 Trade union matters … … … 176 22,800 166 36,100 Working conditions and supervision … 211 36,700 215 41,300 Manning and work allocation … … 298 50,000 398 78,200 Dismissal and other disciplinary measures 199 44,300 210 62,700 Miscellaneous … … … … — — — — Total … … … … … 2,309 573,600 2,016 445,200 The figures for 1977 are provisional and subject to revision normally upwards.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment, in the light of
48Wto industrial disputes, the number of workers involved and the number of working days lost for each of the first 10 months of 1977 and also the final figures for the same months in 1976 are given below.
Comparable figures for November 1977 will be published in due course in the Department of Employment Gazette.
An analysis by cause of the total for the first 10 months of 1977, showing the provisional numbers of stoppages and workers directly involved is also given, together with a similar analysis of the final figures for the whole of 1976.
Provisional figures analysed by cause for the individual months of 1977 are not available as amendments received belatedly are only taken into account in the cumulative total for all months in the year to date. Likewise, only annual figures are available for 1976.
the fact that there have been about three times more strikes in 1977, than 1976, to 49W what extent these disputes were caused by objections to the Government's various wages and incomes policies; and to what extent the 7,415,000 working days lost in the first 10 months of 1977 due to industrial disputes can be costed.
§ Mr. GoldingThe provisional estimate of the number of stoppages of work due to industrial disputes in the first 10 months of 1977 was 2,309 representing an increase of 34.7 per cent. compared with the equivalent period in 1976. The number of working days lost in these disputes increased by rather less than threefold.
The analyses by cause distinguish disputes over pay but not whether they are in opposition to particular policies.
In the first 10 months of 1977, the number of stoppages attributed to disputes over pay was 1,316, representing 57 per cent. of the total of 2,309. This compares with 875, or 43 per cent. of the total of 2,016 in the whole of 1976.
It would be impracticable to evaluate the cost of stoppages having regard to the many variable elements involved.