HC Deb 18 February 1947 vol 433 cc156-7W
Mr. Battley

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state, in table form, the comparative numbers of strikes which occurred during the 16 months following the cessation of the 1914–18 war and the 16 months following the 1939–45 war with Japan; the numbers of working days lost; and the minimum and maximum days duration of the strikes over the two periods

Mr. Isaacs

The number of stoppages of, work, arising from industrial disputes, and the number of working days lost were as follow:

Period Number of Stoppages. Approximate Number of Working days lost
November, 1918, to February, 1920 1,654 38¾
August, 1945, to November, 1946. 3,117

In both periods there were many stoppages lasting only one day or less. In the period following the 1914–18 war there were some stoppages which continued for many months before a settlement was arrived at. Since the end of the last war the longest stoppage lasted 17 weeks.