What do strikes look like in the light of statistics?
The early part of 2024 has been an interesting time from the perspective of strikes. In addition to the usual strikes related to collective agreements, the series of political strikes that began in 2023 has continued, with rounds of larger scale than before. With industrial action firmly in the spotlight, it is interesting to delve deeper into the subject and examine what the statistics tell us about strikes. How have the numbers of strikes developed over the years? What are the most common reasons for striking? And how do Finland’s industrial disputes compare internationally? The statistics provide answers to these and other interesting questions.
In the statistics, industrial action includes both strikes and other forms of industrial dispute such as lockouts, boycotts, and overtime bans. The forms of industrial action have only been recorded separately since 2021, and in both years for which data are available all industrial actions were strikes. It is therefore likely that the majority of earlier industrial actions as well — especially when measured by the number of working days lost — were strikes, so in this text I use the word strike to describe industrial action. (AI translation)
