The number of days lost to industrial disputes jumped by 130 per cent in 2012, rising to 8,486. However, the number of disputes fell, according to the Central Statistics Office.

There were five disputes in 2012, down from eight in 2011, involving almost 2,000 workers and five firms. Two of these disputes, in the industry sector, accounted for almost three-quarters of the days lost.

The fourth quarter of 2012 saw no days lost to industrial disputes. This is the first quarter since the third quarter of 2007 that no days were lost to industrial disputes.

The lowest year for industrial disputes was 2008, with 4,147 days lost, while the highest was 2009, when 329,593 days were lost due to public sector strikes.