Stoppages by Dublin Bus staff contributed to an eleven-fold increase in the number of work days lost through industrial disputes in the first three months of the year, the Central Statistics Office said yesterday.
Figures released yesterday show that 23,238 days were lost in January, February and March. This contrasted with 2,033 days lost in the same period last year. However, the days lost were lower than in the final three months of last year when the nurses' strike contributed to 178,532 days lost.
Over two-thirds of days lost in the first quarter were in the transport, storage and communications sector, the office said. Disputes in manufacturing accounted for 19 per cent of days lost while stoppages at local authorities accounted for 9 per cent.
Overall, some 4,125 workers were involved in 12 disputes. In the same period last year, 787 workers took part in six stoppages.
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