Papua New Guinea

Organization responsible for the statistics

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

Objectives and users

Not available.

Coverage

Strikes and lockouts

The statistics cover: Working to rule, go-slows and overtime bans are not included.

Minimum threshold Duration of at least one hour.

Economic activities

The public service and discipline forces (police, defence force and prison warders) are excluded.

Workers

Workers directly involved only. The statistics cover full-time paid employees, including temporary, casual and seasonal workers. Workers involved in strikes or lockouts are members of industrial organizations or unions. Unpaid family workers are not included. The number of workers involved concerns those actually present at the workplace, and therefore does not include workers laid off, or workers absent on sick or annual leave or absent for any other reason.

Geographic areas

Whole country.

Data collected

Concepts and definitions

Industrial dispute

A dispute or difference between (a) an employer and an employee or employees, (b) employers and employees, (c) employees and employees or (d) employers and employers, connected with an industrial matter, and includes a threatening, impending or probable dispute, a situation likely to give rise to a dispute and a dispute arising from a contract of employment, the particulars of which are contested by either party to the contract within three months after the termination of the contract.

Lockout

Employer's action to ban employee(s) from entering the premises or undertaking of the employer for protection of property and management.

The definitions come from the Industrial Relations Act and the Industrial Organisations Act.

Methods of measurement

Strikes and lockouts

The basic unit used to record a strike or a lockout is the case of dispute in an economic unit (establishment or company). The resumption of a strike or lockout after interruption, still due to the same case of dispute, is counted as the same strike or lockout during a period of 28 days. Work stoppages arising from the same case of dispute, occurring simultaneously or at different times in different establishments of the same enterprise are counted as the same strike or lockout. Those resulting from the same case of dispute and occurring simultaneously or at different times in establishments of different enterprises are counted as separate strikes or lockouts.

Economic units involved

The economic unit is the establishment, which refers to all forms of workplaces.

Workers involved

The number of workers involved is the average of the number of daily absences during the period of the strike or lockout, or the average of the number of posts temporarily unoccupied on each day as a result of the action, or the maximum number of workers that took part during the course of the stoppage, even if some workers participated for only part of the duration, or the total employment in the economic units involved.

Duration

The duration is measured in workdays from the date on which the strike or lockout began in the economic unit involved up to the date on which it terminated in that unit.

Time not worked

Total time not worked is measured in workhours then converted to workdays (8 hours per day). Overtime is not taken into consideration.

Classifications

Type of dispute

Method of settlement

Branch of economic activity

The data are classified by branch of economic activity using a national classification of industrial groupings.

Reference period and periodicity

Statistics are compiled and published for periods of a year. They refer to strikes and lockouts taking place during the particular reference period (year).

Analytical measures

None.

Historical background of the series

Not available.

Documentation

Series available

Not available.

Bibliographic references

Department of Labour and Employment: Pocket Book of Labour Statistics (annual; last published in 1989).

Data published by the ILO

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

Confidentiality

Not available.

International standards

Not available.

Methods of data collection

There is a legal obligation, applying in principle to the employer (although both parties are obliged to report) to report the occurrence of a strike or lockout to the Department of Labour and Employment, supplying information about the matter in dispute.