A TOTAL of 130,000 production days were lost through strikes during 1995, compared with 24,000 in 1994. Releasing the figures yesterday, the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, said they were disappointing.
However, he said two thirds of the days lost 85,500 were due to the three week strike at Dunnes Stores. A further 27,000 days were accounted for by the Irish Press dispute and the one day teachers strike.
"Discounting the exceptional big three disputes, there was a relatively modest 18,000 days lost due to general strike activity," Mr Bruton said. "This was good compared to previous years.
He insisted the "underlying industrial relations climate is still healthy. The relative industrial harmony of recent years, aided largely by the existence of centrally negotiated national agreements since 1987, provides a fruitful base on which to foster the continued growth of our emerging enterprise culture".
Industrial peace was a significant contributor to the creation and maintenance of employment. "All parties should make every effort not to resort to damaging strike action, which in the vast majority of cases can be avoided through sensible workplace industrial relations practices and procedures, or with the assistance of the State's industrial relations machinery," he said.
The number of strikes in 1995 was 36, compared with 32 in 1994 and 48 in 1993. In 1992, there were 41 strikes and there were 52 in 1991. Twenty nine of the strikes in 1995, or 81 per cent, were official. This compares with official strikes accounting for 84 per cent of the total in 1994, 81 per cent in 1993, 73 per cent in 1992, 75 per cent in 1991 and 69 per cent in 1990. Official disputes in 1995 accounted for 99 per cent of days lost.
Dunnes Stores alone, with its 85,500 strike days, accounted for more production days lost than all the strikes that took place in 1994 and 1993 combined. The teachers' one day stoppage accounted for another 19,000 days lost and the protracted Irish Press strike, where 650 workers lost their jobs, a further 12,000.