More than 7,700 days were lost to three industrial disputes during the second quarter of this year, according to the Central Statistics Office. This is over 13 times higher than the figure for the same period last year when 572 days were lost to strikes.
The three disputes involved 1,145 workers at three firms. Two were in the industry sector and involved 1,310 workers and 6,114 days lost. The other was in the wholesale and retail trade and involved 135 workers and 1,640 lost days.
The figures from 2004 to the second quarter of 2012 show that 2009 had the highest number of industrial disputes, with 278,228 workers involved and 329,593 days lost. The lowest figure was 2008, when 356 workers and 4,147 days were lost.
The number of days lost is calculated by multiplying the number of people involved by the number of working days they were involved in the dispute.