Article

Labour disputes in the UK: 2018

Analysis of UK labour disputes in 2018, including working days lost, stoppages and
workers involved.

Contact: Release date: Next release:

Richard Clegg 17 May 2019 To be announced
[email protected]
+44 (0)1633 455400

Notice
3 April 2020
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic presents a significant challenge to the UK. We are working to ensure that
the UK has the vital information needed to respond to the impact of this pandemic on our economy and society.

The effects of the pandemic on ONS capacity and capability during this period means we have reviewed the
existing labour market releases. As a result data collection and publication of labour disputes will cease for the
foreseeable future.

This action will protect the delivery and quality of our remaining outputs as well as ensuring we can respond to
new demands as a direct result of COVID-19. More details about the impact on labour market outputs can be
found in our statement.

Page 1 of 23
Table of contents
1. Main points for 2018

2. Annual changes

3. Historical context

4. Industrial analyses

5. Regional analysis

6. Cause of disputes

7. Disputes by duration

8. Disputes by size

9. Disputes by public and private sector

10. Quality and methodology

11. Technical note

Page 2 of 23
1 . Main points for 2018

There were 273,000 working days lost due to labour disputes, the sixth-lowest annual total since records
began in 1891.

The education sector accounted for 66% of all working days lost, due mainly to disputes involving
employees of universities.

The number of working days lost in the public sector (26,000) was the lowest since records for public
sector strikes began in 1996.

There were 39,000 workers involved in labour disputes, the second-lowest figure since records for workers
involved began in 1893.

There were 81 stoppages, the second-lowest figure since records for stoppages began in 1930.

2 . Annual changes

A comparison of labour disputes in 2017 and 2018 is shown in Table 1. There are three core components to the
figures: the number of working days lost through stoppages, the number of workers involved in those stoppages
and the number of stoppages themselves. See Section 11 of this article for more details on these definitions.

Table 1 : Number of working days lost (WDL), workers involved and stoppages, UK, 2017 and 2018 in progress
in year
2017 2018

Working days lost through stoppages: 276,000 273,000

Workers involved in stoppages: 33,000 39,000

Stoppages: 79 81

Mean number of WDL per stoppage 3,499 3,367

Median number of WDL per stoppage 345 400

Source: Office for National Statistics

Notes

1. Workers in progress figures also include workers who did not strike initially but who joined at a later date.
Back to table

2. WDL equals working days lost. Back to table

Information on earlier years is available in Dataset Table 1: labour disputes annual estimates, 1891 to 2018 .

Page 3 of 23
Figure 1: The median number of working days lost per stoppage has increased for the last five years

Median working days lost per stoppage, UK, 2010 to 2018

Source: Office for National Statistics

Page 4 of 23
Figure 2: The mean number of working days lost per stoppage has been broadly flat for the last three
years

Mean working days lost per stoppage, UK, 2010 to 2018

Source: Office for National Statistics

The mean number of working days lost per stoppage was slightly lower in 2018 than in 2017 but the median
number was higher. The mean value is generally much higher than the median, because working days lost can
be greatly affected by large one-off strikes. For this reason, the median tends to give a more typical measure of
the average number of working days lost per stoppage.

3 . Historical context

As shown in Figure 3, the amount of industrial action has significantly reduced since the early 1990s. This is a
stark contrast to the level of action seen when the miners went on strike in the 1970s and 1980s. The 1910s and
1920s saw even greater levels of industrial action culminating in the general strike of 1926.

Page 5 of 23
Figure 3: The highest number of working days lost in the UK was in 1926, the year of the general strike

Working days lost, UK, 1891 to 2018

Source: Office for National Statistics

Notes:

1. 1898 – Welsh coal strike.

2. 1912 – National coal strike.

3. 1919 – Battle of George Square. Dispute over hours in a working week involving the shipbuilding and
engineering trades.

4. 1921 – Black Friday.

5. 1926 – General Strike. Lasted nine days. Over 1.5 million coal miners, dockworkers, iron workers, printers,
railwaymen, steelworkers and other transport workers joined the strike.

6. 1972 – UK miners' strike.

7. 1979 – Winter of discontent.

8. 1984 to 1985 – UK miners' strike.

The highest annual total for working days lost on record was 162.2 million in 1926, the year of the general strike.
Since 1926, there have only been three years when the annual total of working days lost has exceeded 20 million:

Page 6 of 23
 23.9 million in 1972, due mainly to a strike by coal miners

29.5 million in 1979, due mainly to the so-called “winter of discontent” (a number of strikes in the public
sector in the winter of 1978 to 1979)

27.1 million in 1984, due mainly to a strike by coal miners

Since 2000, the highest annual total of working days lost was 1.4 million in 2011, due mainly to two large public
sector strikes.

Table 2 presents labour disputes figures for the period 1999 to 2018. Of the 273,000 working days lost in 2018,
61% came from a single stoppage involving university employees. The next-largest stoppage in 2018, in terms of
working days lost, accounted for only 7% of the total.

Page 7 of 23
 Table 2: Number of working days lost and stoppages, UK, 1999 to 2018
Stoppages
Working
Working Workers involving the
days lost
Year days lost involved Stoppages 3 loss of 100,000
per 1,000
(thousands) (thousands) working days or
employees 2
more

1999 242 9 141 205 -

2000 499 19 183 212 1

2001 525 20 180 194 1

2002 1,323 49 943 146 2

2003 499 18 151 133 -

2004 905 33 293 130 3

2005 157 6 93 116 -

2006 755 27 713 158 1

2007 1,039 37 745 142 4

2008 759 27 511 144 2

2009 455 16 209 98 1

2010 365 13 133 92 1

2011 1,390 51 1,530 149 3

2012 249 9 237 131 1

2013 444 16 395 114 2

2014 788 27 733 155 2

2015 170 6 81 106 -

2016 322 11 154 101 1

2017 276 9 33 79 1

2018 273 9 39 81 1

Source: Office for National Statistics

Notes

1. Cells containing a hyphen (-) represent zero. Back to table

2. Based on the estimates of employee jobs from Workforce Jobs (ONS). Back to table

3. Stoppages in progress during year. Prior to 2015 a dispute was counted as a new stoppage if there was a
gap of more than one month between instances of industrial action. From 2015 disputes with a gap of more
than one month between instances of industrial action are counted as a single stoppage. Back to table

The second column of Table 2 shows working days lost per 1,000 employee jobs for each year from 1999 to
2018. This enables comparisons to be made adjusting for employment changes over time. The 273,000 working
days lost in 2018 is equivalent to nine working days lost per 1,000 employees, which is lower than the average
over the last 20 years.

Page 8 of 23
Figure 4: The highest number of working days lost in the past 20 years was 1.39 million in 2011

Working days lost, UK, 1999 to 2018

Source: Office for National Statistics

Page 9 of 23
Figure 5: The highest number of stoppages in the past 20 years was 212 in 2000

Stoppages, UK, 1999 to 2018

Source: Office for National Statistics

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate working days lost and the number of stoppages respectively for the last 20 years. They
show that there are a number of spikes in the time series in years when a particularly large strike took place,
showing the impact individual strikes can have on the statistics. The high number of days lost in 2011, for
example, was due to two large public sector strikes, while the 2002 figure was due to one very large stoppage in
the transport and storage industry.

As shown in Figure 5, there has generally been a decline in the number of strikes since 1999. Though volatile,
the number of working days lost has remained broadly the same over this period. This shows that although the
number of stoppages has fallen, large-scale stoppages have become more common.

A longer time series showing stoppages and working days lost can be found within Dataset Table 1 .

4 . Industrial analyses

Table 3 shows labour disputes statistics for 2018 broken down into 13 industry groups, classified according to the
Standard Industrial Classification 2007: SIC 2007. The largest sector, in terms of working days lost and workers
involved was education, which accounted for:

Page 10 of 23
 66% of all working days lost (179,000 out of a total of 273,000)

52% of all workers involved (20,000 out of a total of 39,000)

21% of all strikes (17 out of 81)

While the education sector accounted for most of the working days lost and workers involved in 2018, the sector
showing the largest number of stoppages was transport and storage (25 out of 81). The strikes in this sector
mainly occurred within public transport.

Page 11 of 23
 Table 3: Number of working days lost and stoppages by industry, UK, 2018
Working
Working Workers
days lost
Industry group (SIC 2007) SIC class days lost involved Stoppages ³
per 1,000
(thousands) (thouands)
employees

All industries 272.7 9 39.2 81

and services

Agriculture forestry 01,02,03 - - - -

and fishing

Mining, quarrying 5 to 9, 35 0.1 1 - 1

and Electricity,
gas, air
conditioning

Manufacturing 10 to 33 3.0 1 0.6 5

Sewerage, Waste 36 to 39 4.6 21 0.9 4

Management
and Remediation
Activities and
Water Supply

Construction 41 to 43 5.8 4 0.8 3

Wholesale 45 to 47, 55 to 56 0.9 - 0.3 6

and retail
trade; repair
of motor
vehicles, and
Accommodation
and Food Services

Transport and 49 to 53 42.6 30 4.9 25

storage

Information and 58 to 63 10.6 8 0.5 2

Communication

Financial and 64 to 82 4.0 1 0.7 5

Insurance, Real
estate, Professional,
Scientific, Technical and
Admin Activities

Public administration 84 15.9 12 8.8 4

and defence;
compulsory social
security

Education 85 179.4 67 20.3 17

Human Health 86 to 88 4.9 1 1.2 6

and social work

Other 90 to 99 0.8 1 0.1 3

Source: Office for National Statistics

Notes

Page 12 of 23
 1. The figures for working days lost and workers have been rounded and consequently the sums of
constituent items may not agree precisely with the totals. Back to table

2. Some stoppages involved workers in more than one of the above industry groups, but have each been
counted as only one stoppage in the totals for all industries and services. Cells containing a hyphen (-)
represent a zero or less than 50. Back to table

3. Stoppages in progress during year. Back to table

Figure 6: In 2018, the highest number of working days lost per 1,000 employees was in the education
sector

Working days lost per 1,000 employees for selected industries, UK, 2009 to 2018

Source: Office for National Statistics

As shown in Figure 6, the highest number of working days lost in 2018 occurred in the education sector (67
working days lost per 1,000 employees), a contrast to 2017 when most working days lost occurred in the
transport and storage sector.

5 . Regional analysis

As shown in Figure 7, the region with the highest strike rate in 2018 was Scotland (23 working days lost per
1,000 employees). This contrasts with 2017, when the highest strike rate was in London (28 working days lost
per 1,000 employees).

Page 13 of 23
Figure 7: Scotland had the largest strike rate in 2018

Working days lost per 1,000 employees by country or region, UK, 2017 and 2018

Looking at the figures over the 10-year period from 2009 to 2018:

the highest strike rates (22 working days lost per 1,000 employees) occurred in the North East and in
Yorkshire and The Humber

the lowest strike rate (seven working days lost per 1,000 employees) occurred in the East of England

Dataset Table 2 shows regional strike rates between 2009 and 2018, with a further breakdown of the figures for
2018 by industrial grouping. When interpreting these figures, it is important to bear in mind that the industrial
composition of employment in a region is a major influencing factor on the scale of labour disputes it experiences.

6 . Cause of disputes

For 2009 and 2010, following the recession, redundancies were the main cause of disputes. However, since
2011, pay has been the main cause of disputes in all years except for 2016, when the main cause was duration
and pattern of hours worked (shown within the “Other” category in Figure 8 and due mainly to a dispute involving
junior doctors in the National Health Service in England).

Page 14 of 23
Figure 8: Pay has been the main cause of labour disputes for the last two years

Working days lost by principal cause of dispute, UK, 2009 to 2018

Source: Office for National Statistics

In 2018, over half of the stoppages (50 out of a total of 81) were due to pay disputes and they accounted for:

225,200 working days lost (around 83% of all working days lost)

33,500 workers involved (around 85% of all workers involved)

Dataset Table 3 shows stoppages in 2018 by principal cause and industry grouping. Disputes over pay also
include stoppages over feared or alleged reductions in earnings, as well as disputes over the size of pay
increases. Disputes over pension provisions are also classified as disputes over pay.

Dataset Table 4 shows information on working days lost by cause of dispute in each year since 2009. The figures
are often dominated by one or two very large strikes, which can make comparisons over time difficult.

7 . Disputes by duration

Labour disputes statistics cover the number of days that strike action took place, not the number of days the
parties involved in the dispute were in disagreement.

Page 15 of 23
Table 4 shows the duration of the 81 stoppages in progress in 2018. These show that 12 out of the 81 stoppages
in 2018 lasted for only one day. While these one-day stoppages accounted for 14.8% of all stoppages, they only
accounted for 2.2% of all workers involved and 0.3% of all working days lost in 2018.

Table 4: Working days lost, workers involved and stoppages in progress by duration, UK, 2018
Proportion of Workers
Working days Proportion of Stoppages Proportion of
Duration all working involved
lost (thousands) all workers (%) in progress all stoppages (%)
days lost (%) (thousands)

1 0.8 0.3 0.8 2.2 12 14.8

2 11.9 4.4 8.4 21.5 12 14.8

3 1.9 0.7 1.0 2.4 10 12.3

4 9.4 3.4 3.2 8.1 6 7.4

5 4.6 1.7 1.1 2.9 7 8.6

6 to 10 20.6 7.6 3.3 8.3 16 19.8

11 to 15 176.6 64.8 19.0 48.6 5 6.2

16 to 20 1.3 0.5 0.2 0.6 3 3.7

21 to 30 3.8 1.4 0.3 0.8 4 4.9

31 to 50 41.4 15.2 1.7 4.3 5 6.2

Over 50 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.3 1 1.2

All stoppages 272.7 100.0 39.2 100.0 81 100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics

Notes

1. The statistics cover the number of days that strike action took place, not the number of days the parties
involved in the dispute were actually in disagreement. Back to table

2. Classification by size is based on the full duration of stoppages, but the figure for days lost include only
those days lost in 2018. Back to table

3. The figures for working days lost and workers involved have been rounded and consequently the sum of
the constituent items may not agree precisely with the totals. Back to table

4. The working days lost figures are in general less than the product of the duration of each stoppage and the
number of workers involved because some workers would not have been involved throughout the dispute –
see the Technical note section for more information. Back to table

5. Cells containing a hyphen (-) represent a zero. Back to table

Page 16 of 23
Figure 9: Just over half of the total number of stoppages in 2018 lasted for five days or more

Number of stoppages in progress by duration of dispute, UK, 2018

Source: Office for National Statistics

8 . Disputes by size

Table 5 shows disputes in 2018 by size. Of the 81 stoppages in 2018, over half (45) had less than 500 days lost.
These stoppages with less than 500 days lost accounted for only 2.8% of all working days lost. Only two
stoppages in 2018 had 25,000 or more days lost, but these two stoppages accounted for 68.6% of all working
days lost. This shows the impact that large strikes can have on the figures.

Page 17 of 23
 Table 5: Stoppages in progress by size of dispute, UK, 2018
Proportion Proportion
Working days Working Workers Proportion
of all Stoppages of all
lost in each days lost involved of all workers
working in progress stoppages
dispute (thousands) (thousands) (%)
days lost (%) (%)

Under 250 days 3.7 1.4 2.4 6.0 36 44.4

250 and under 500 3.8 1.4 1.2 3.0 9 11.1

500 and under 1,000 8.7 3.2 1.9 4.7 13 16.0

1,000 and under 5,000 22.3 8.2 4.4 11.4 14 17.3

5,000 and under 25,000 47.3 17.3 11.0 28.2 7 8.6

25,000 days and over 186.9 68.6 18.3 46.7 2 2.5

All stoppages 272.7 100.0 39.2 100.0 81 100.0

Source: Office for National Statistics

Notes

1. The figures for working days lost and workers involved have been rounded and consequently the sum of
the constituent items may not agree with the totals. Back to table

Page 18 of 23
Figure 10: Most stoppages in 2017 and 2018 had less than 500 working days lost

Number of stoppages in progress by working days lost, UK, 2017 and 2018

Source: Office for National Statistics

9 . Disputes by public and private sector

While records for working days lost go back to 1891, the figures can only be broken down between the public and
private sectors from 1996. Table 6 shows working days lost and number of stoppages for the private and public
sectors for the last 10 years.

Page 19 of 23
 Table 6: Number of working days lost and stoppages by public and private sector, UK, 2009 to 2018
Working days Working days lost
Stoppages¹
lost (thousands) per 1000 employees²

Year Public Private Public Private Public Private

2009 368 88 49 49 57 4

2010 313 52 47 45 49 2

2011 1,276 113 87 62 205 5

2012 198 51 62 69 33 2

2013 363 81 50 64 63 3

2014 716 72 68 87 129 3

2015 90 79 53 53 16 3

2016 243 79 41 60 44 3

2017 44 232 30 49 8 9

2018 26 246 25 56 5 9

Notes

1. Stoppages in progress during the year. Back to table

2. Based on the latest estimates of public and private sector employment (Office for National Statistics). Back
to table

Page 20 of 23
Figure 11: In 2018, the number of working days lost in the public sector (26,000) was the lowest on record

Workings days lost by public and private sectors, UK, 1996 to 2018

Source: Office for National Statistics

As shown in Figure 11, for each year between 2000 and 2016 there were more working days lost in the public
sector than in the private sector even though the private sector is much larger. However, for both 2017 and 2018,
there were more working days lost in the private sector than in the public sector.

In 2018:

the number of working days lost in the private sector (246,000) was the largest since 1996

the number of working days lost in the public sector (26,000) was the lowest since records for public sector
strikes began in 1996

Page 21 of 23
10 . Quality and methodology

The Labour disputes Quality and Methodology Information report contains important information on:

the strengths and limitations of the data and how it compares with related data

uses and users

how the output was created

the quality of the output including the accuracy of the data

11 . Technical note

Definition of stoppages

The statistics cover stoppages of work in progress in the UK during a year caused by labour disputes between
employers and workers, or between workers and other workers, connected with terms and conditions of
employment. A distinction can be drawn between stoppages that started in the current year and those that started
in earlier years.

A stoppage in progress is defined as a dispute that has continued from a previously recorded dispute by the
same organisation and for the same cause. Prior to 2015, a dispute was counted as a new stoppage if there was
a gap of more than one month between instances of industrial action. From 2015, disputes with a gap of more
than one month between instances of industrial action are counted as a single stoppage.

The statistics exclude disputes that do not result in a stoppage of work, for example, work-to-rules and go-slows;
this is because their effects are not quantifiable to any degree of certainty. Stoppages involving fewer than 10
workers or lasting less than one day are also excluded unless the total number of working days lost in the dispute
is 100 or more.

Stoppages over issues not directly linked to terms and conditions between workers and employers are omitted,
although in most years this is not significant. For example, in 1986 one stoppage was considered to be political (a
protest in the coal industry against the visit of an MP) and it was excluded from the figures. The total working
days lost amounted to less than 1,000. The next known dispute to be excluded was in 1991. This involved a
boycott by self-employed market traders who, after increased rent and changes to the market rules, kept their
stalls closed for about 20 weeks.

Working days lost

Working days lost are defined as the number of days not worked by people as a result of their involvement in a
dispute at their place of work. In measuring the number of working days lost, account is taken only of the time lost
in the basic working week. Overtime work is excluded, as is weekend working where it is not a regular practice.

Where an establishment is open every day, and runs two or more shifts, the statistics will record the number of
working days lost for each shift. In recording the number of days lost, allowance is made for public and known
annual holidays, such as factory fortnights, occurring within the strike's duration. No allowance is made for
absence from work for such reasons as sickness and unauthorised leave.

Page 22 of 23
Where strikes last less than the basic working day, the hours lost are converted to full-day equivalents. Similarly,
days lost by part-time workers are converted to full-day equivalents. The number of working days lost in a
stoppage reflects the actual number of workers involved at each point in the stoppage. This is generally less than
the total derived by multiplying the duration of the stoppage by the total number of workers involved at any time
during the stoppage, because some workers would not have been involved throughout.

Figures given for working days lost per 1,000 employees use employee jobs for each year taken from our most
recent estimates of workforce jobs.

Number of stoppages

There are difficulties in ensuring complete recording of stoppages, in particular short disputes lasting only a day
or involving only a few workers may be overlooked. Because of this recording difficulty and the cut-off applied,
the number of working days lost is considered to be a better indicator of the impact of labour disputes than the
number of recorded stoppages.

Workers involved

We aim to record the number of workers that are involved at any time in the stoppage. For example, consider a
three- day strike where there were 200 workers involved on the first day; 300 on the second day, of whom 100
were involved for the first time; and 200 on the third day, of whom 50 were involved for the first time. The total
number of workers involved in the dispute is 350 – 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 taking strike action for the first time during
a dispute cannot always be easily ascertained. In such cases, the statistics record the highest number involved at
any one time (300 in this example).

Take another example, where there are 200 workers involved in a stoppage on each of days one, two and three.
It may be necessary to assume that there were a total of 200 workers involved, although it is possible, but
unlikely, that as many as 600 workers could have been involved. For this reason, the statistics may under-
estimate the number of workers involved in a dispute. However, the estimate of the number of working days lost
is unaffected by this consideration.

Page 23 of 23