THE COST OF STRIKES

Northern Advocate, 11 December 1937, Page 6

THE COST OF STRIKES

The recent hold-up on the Auckland waterfront gives especial interest! to information which has just come to hand from the International Labour Office relative to industrial disputes and strikes during 193(1. World statistics show that in 21 countries from which complete figures are available, labour disputes totalled GOB 4 in 1939. These involved 2,423,430 workers, and resulted in a loss of 29,264,848 working days. The United States, the figures show, led all the others with 2172 disputes, involving i 788,648 workers, and resulting in a loss of 13,901.956 working days. Poland was second with 2058 disputes, involving 664,593 workers, and resulting in a loss'’of 4,006,556 working days. Third on the list was Great Britain, with 808 disputes, involving 315,000 workers, and result ing in a loss of 1,830,000 working days. Austria, apparently.! had. the fewest number of disputes, the total being three, which involved 123 workers and resulted in a loss of 269 working days. It is interesting to know that in New Zealand there-were 43 strikes during .1936, involving 7354 workers and the loss of 99,800 working days. The figures for other countries than those mentioned are as follow:—i Workers Working

Strike?. Involved. Days Lost. Argentina 109 85,438 1.344,461 Australia . 235 60,586 494,319 Canada ... 155 34,812 276.997 China .... 128 78,992 666,931 Czechoslov. 263 53,912 603.061 Denm'ark . 12 96,862 2,948,000 Estonia ... 16 2.539 14.822 Finland . . 29 2,935 35.360 Hungary . 122 20,747 232.622 India .... 157 169,029 2,358,062 Irish F.S. 107 9,443 185.623 Netherlands 96 10,420 99,800 Palestine 20 956 11,625 Rumania . 90 15,231 195,606 Switzerland 41 3,612 38.789 U. S. Africa 20 2 198 5.009