The (in)accuracy of official work stoppage statistics in New Zealand

Abstract

The accuracy of stoppage statistics in New Zealand is examined by comparing official statistics of the Federation of Labour's right to bargain campaign with those collected at Victoria University of Wellington The campaign of industrial stoppages lasted 87 days and was identified using media reports and employer and union sources. A total of 57,264 workers stopped work, losing a total of 126,793 working days. Government figures under-report the nurnber of workers involved in the campaign stoppages by 47 percent and the number of working days lost by 42 percent. The degree of under-reporting is even more marked when the activities of 2 groups of workers- meat processing workers and waterside workers - are taken out of the sample. Then, working days lost in the manufacturing sector are under-reported by 117 percent while in the transpon sector official figures reveal a more 82 workers losing 198 days while university figures identified 9,440 workers losing 6,360 working days. Reasonsfor these inaccuracies include the low priority given to the function of collecting stoppage statistics within the Department and staffing difficulties while at the same title the Department's work load was being increased. It is often argued that while the raw stoppage statistics are inaccurat, they do accurately reflect trends in industrial disputation. The research indicates that this is nor the case and that policy makers should not rely on stoppage statistics as a means to evaluate the effectiveness of the industrial relations system.