A total of 5,208 work days were lost to job disputes in the first half of 2006, Central Statistics Office figures showed today.
One strike in the construction industry involved 212 workers and cost 3,392 days while two stoppages in manufacturing resulted in 1,005 lost days.
There was one strike in each of the categories of public administration and defence and health and social work, which comprised 663 and 148 days respectively.
There were were almost five times more days lost in the second quarter as the first quarter due to three new disputes beginning in April, May and June.
A total of 1,801 days were lost in the second quarter, compared to 1,556 for the same period in 2005.
Speaking at a Human Resources Conference in Galway this week, chief executive of the Labour Relations Commission Kieran Mulvey said management and unions needed a stronger sense of common purpose to achieve "essential restructuring" in the public and private sectors.