The number of employment rights cases being referred to the Labour Relations Commission's conciliation service continues to rise, according to new figures published today.
Over 15,000 complaints were submitted to the LRC last year, the highest level of referrals ever recorded.
According to the commission's annual report, some 15,671 separate complaints were made by individuals to Rights Commissioners last year, compared to 14,569 referrals in 2009.
The commission said it handled nearly 17,000 disputes and issues across in total during 2010, a year in which only 14 industrial disputes leading to the loss of only 6,600 days at work occurred in the Irish economy.
Separate figures published by the Central Statistics Office yesterday indicate that 2,451 days were lost to industrial disputes in the first quarter of 2011.
This compares to a loss of 4,217 days for the same quarter in 2010.
During the first quarter there were three disputes in progress involving 335 workers and three firms.
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