HC Deb 13 February 1984 vol 54 cc31-2W
Mr. John Evans

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many unofficial strikes took place in Great Britain in 1983; and what were the comparable figures for each of the previous five years;

(2) what was the total number of days lost through unofficial strikes in Great Britain in 1983; and what were the comparable figures for the previous five years;

(3) how many unofficial strikes which took place in Great Britain in 1983 lasted for one day only, one to two days, two to three days, three to four days, four to five days, one to two weeks, two to three weeks, three to four weeks, and over four weeks; what was the total number of days lost in each category; and what were the comparable figures for each of the preceding five years;

(4) what number of official strikes was called by trade unions in Great Britain in 1983 after a ballot of their members; and what was the number in each of the previous five years;

(5) how many days were lost in Great Britain in 1983 through official strikes called by trade unions without a ballot of their members being held; and what were the comparable figures for the previous five years;

(6) what was the total number of official strikes in Great Britain in 1983 lasting for the following periods and what was the total number of days lost in each category: (a) less than five days, (b) five to nine days, (c) 10 to 14 days, (d)

Year Number of cases heard by industrial tribunals Cases upheld Cases dismissed
Number Percentage Number Percentage
1978 11,828 3,277 27.7 8,551 72.3
1979 11,705 3,187 27.2 8,518 72.8
1980 10,037 2,778 27.7 7,259 72.3
1981 13,436 3,134 23.3 10,302 76.7
1982 11,509 3,535 30.7 7,974 69.3

Mr. Janner

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what estimate he makes of the success and failure rate of unfair dismissal claims failed and succeeded where the applicant was represented by a trade union or by a lawyer, respectively, as opposed to being self-represented.

15 to 19 days, (e) 20 to 24 days and (f) 25 days or over; and what were the comparable figures for the previous five years.

Mr. Alan Clark

The available information is given in the table. Details of stoppages known to be official ceased to be published after 1981. No information has ever been available on whether the calling of strikes followed a ballot of union members. Nor has a breakdown of these statistics for separate duration categories ever been published. Such a breakdown could be prepared only at considerable cost.

Number of stoppages beginning in period Working days lost ('000) in stoppages in progress
Known official Other* Known official Other*
1978 90 2,381 4,052 5,353
1979 82 1,998 23,512 5,962
1980 67 1,263 10,081 1,883
1981 55 1,283 1,980 2,286
Note: Figures relate to the United Kingdom
* Not necessarily all unoffical.