United Kingdom

Organization responsible for the statistics

The statistics are collected, compiled and published by the Employment Department.

Objectives and users

Not available.

Coverage

Strikes and lockouts

The statistics cover: Political strikes are not included, nor are working to rule, go-slows or overtime bans.

Minimum threshold At least 10 workers involved or lasting at least one day, unless the aggregate number of days not worked is greater than 100. These minima have been fixed in order to eliminate the smallest strikes or lockouts. There can be some uncertainty in identifying very short stoppages, and recording problems are significantly worse for small stoppages. Their exclusion has a negligible effect on the main indicator, working days not worked.

Economic activities

The armed forces are not covered.

Workers

Workers directly involved and workers indirectly involved, separately. In addition to regular employees, including part-time workers, the statistics cover temporary, casual and seasonal workers. Unpaid family workers and the self-employed are not included, as they are not employees. Workers absent on sick leave, annual leave or for other reasons, and not participating in the strike or lockout, are not included.

Workers indirectly involved cover those who are not themselves parties to the dispute, but are unable to work as a result of the strike or lockout. Workers in the same establishment who are laid off because of the strike or lockout are included as workers indirectly involved.

Workers at other sites who are indirectly affected, for example, because of a shortage of materials or temporary lack of demand, are excluded entirely.

Geographic areas

Whole country.

Types of data collected

Concepts and definitions

Stoppages

Stoppages of work due to industrial disputes between employers and workers or between workers and other workers connected with terms and conditions of employment.

This is a working definition for statistical purposes.

Methods of measurement

Strikes and lockouts

The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike or lockout is the case of dispute.

Work stoppages arising from the same case of dispute, occurring at different times in the same establishment, or simultaneously or at different times in establishments of the same or different enterprises are counted as the same strike or lockout, unless the period between stoppages is more than two months.

It is difficult to ensure complete recording of strikes and lockouts, particularly for short stoppages lasting only a day or so, or involving only a few workers.

Workers involved

Attempts are made to record the numbers of all workers involved at any time in a strike or lockout, even if some workers participated for only part of its duration. Ideally, this is the sum of all those involved on the first day, and those joining for the first time on subsequent days. However, the number of workers joining the action for the first time after the first day cannot always be ascertained easily, so in such cases, the highest number involved at any one time is recorded. For this reason, the number of workers involved in a strike or lockout may be underrecorded. Data on the numbers of workers involved directly and indirectly are collected and presented separately in publications. Part-time workers involved are counted as individuals on the same basis as full-time workers.

Workers involved in more than one strike or lockout during the year are included in the statistics for each strike or lockout in which they were involved.

Duration

The duration of a strike or lockout is measured in terms of workdays, as the number of days on which the action took place.

Time not worked

The total amount of time not worked is measured in workdays, by ascertaining the total amount of time not worked on each day of the stoppage, and summing these totals, if these data are available. If a strike or lockout lasts for less than the basic working day, the hours nor worked are converted to full-day equivalents. Account is taken only of the time not worked in the basic working week; overtime work is not included, nor is weekend working or work on public or annual holidays where this is not a regular practice. The number of days not worked by shift workers is determined by the average number of shifts a worker would work during a week from Monday to Sunday, and these are treated as working days. Allowance is not usually made for absence from work for such reasons as sickness or unauthorised leave, unless this information is readily available. If the above-mentioned method is not possible, the total amount of time not worked is calculated as the product of the number of workers involved and the duration. Time not worked by part-time workers involved is converted to full-time equivalent workdays, using the ratio of their normal hours of work to normal hours of work for full-time workers.

If an employer dismisses his employees during a strike or lockout and subsequently reinstates them, the days not worked by them during the period of dismissal are included in the total. If an employer dismisses his employees and replaces them with other workers during a strike or lockout, the number of days not worked is measured in terms of the size and duration of the replacement workforce.

Classifications

Cause of dispute

(principal cause)

Branch of economic activity

The data are classified using the industry groups of the Standard Industrial Classification 1980 (SIC 80). In the case of widespread strikes or lockouts involving many industries, the data are classified according to the branch of activity of the economic units involved.

Number of workers involved

Duration

(in working days)

Time not worked

(in workdays)

Other

Reference period and periodicity

The statistics are compiled each month and published for periods of one month and one year. Data for one year relate to moving periods of 12 months, i.e. the total for the 12 months up to the current month.

Information is collected and published separately with respect to strikes and lockouts beginning during the current month and those continuing from the previous month.

Analytical measures

Number of days not worked per thousand employees, calculated using the total number of days not worked as the numerator and mid-year (June) employment estimates as the denominator.

This measure is used for comparisons over time, between regions, between industries and between countries.

Historical background of the series

Not available.

Documentation

Series available

Not available.

Bibliographic references

Monthly data are published in:

Employment Department: Labour market statistics, press notice (monthly);

Idem: Employment Gazette (monthly);

Central Statistical Office: Monthly Digest of Statistics.

Annual data are published in:

Employment Department: Employment Gazette (July issue).

Data published by the ILO

The number of strikes and lockouts, the number of workers involved, the number of days not worked and rates of days not worked, by economic activity.

Confidentiality

Not available.

International standards

Not available.

Methods of data collection

There is no legal obligation to report the occurrence of a strike or lockout. The data for Great Britain are collected through the local Unemployment Benefit Office (UBO) network of the Employment Department and other sources, including centralised returns from certain large employers, press reports, trade unions and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). The staff of the UBO use standard forms to collect information at the start of the stoppage, and at the end of each month, or when the stoppage terminates. Information for Northern Ireland is collected through the Department of Economic Development.