§ Mr. Arnoldasked the Secretary of State for Employment what estimate he has made of the number of working days lost due to strike action per 1,000 people employed during the period January to June 1978, in each of the member countries of the EEC.
§ Mr. Golding:The following table shows the latest available information. These estimates should be interpreted with caution. In particular, there are differences in methods and coverage of the statistics in the various countries and the numbers of working days lost over periods as short as a few months can vary substantially.
ESTIMATED AVERAGE NUMBER OF WORKING DAYS LOST PER MONTH PER 1,000 EMPLOYEES IN CIVILIAN EMPLOYMENT THROUGH INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES DURING THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1978 Provisional figures Months covered 1978 Germay F.R. 15* January to May France 11‡ January to April Italy 56* January to June Netherlands —‡ January to May Belgium 44‡ January to June Luxembourg 0‡ January to March United Kingdom 25† January to June — Less than 0.5. *Based on average employment figures for the first half of 1978. † Based on provisional employment figures for March 1978. ‡Based on 1977 employment figures. Sources used:
- Eurostat: Monthly General Statistics Bulletin.
- Department of Employment Gazette.
- OECD: Main Economic Indicators.
- Labour Force Statistics.