Work stoppages fall in March quarter

Work stoppages were down in the March 2005 quarter, a Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) survey said.

Four stoppages -- three strikes and one partial strike -- ended in the March 2005 quarter, down from 11 in the December 2004 quarter.

A similar trend occurred the previous year, when 13 stoppages ended in the December 2003 quarter and six in the March 2004 quarter, but SNZ said there was no overall trend over the years of stoppages falling in the March quarter.

The four stoppages which ended in the March 2005 quarter involved 886 employees and cost workers an estimated $64,000 pay .

The stoppages which ended in the March 2005 quarter took the total which ended for the year to March to 32, the SNZ survey said, down from 33 in the previous year.

These involved 6389 employees and resulted in the loss of 5079 person-days of work and an estimated $900,000 in wages and salaries.

Manufacturing workplaces contributed 10 of the 32 stoppages and had the highest number of workers involved, though the transport and storage industry had the highest loss in pay and person-days of work.

Five work stoppages occurred in the government administration and defence industry, and four each in the health and community sector and transport and storage industries.

The public sector contributed fewer stoppages (14) in numerical terms than the private sector (18), but had a higher number of employees involved and a greater loss in wages and salaries, and in person-days of work.

Four stoppages were ongoing at the end of the March quarter.

- NZPA