The number of working days lost to industrial action plummeted by almost two thirds during Labour’s first year in power, new analysis suggests.
In the 12 months leading up to July 2024 – when Labour won power – 1,406,000 working days were lost to strikes.
During the year following Labour’s win, just 559,000 were lost, a huge drop of more than 60 per cent.
The figures – which come from GMB analysis of Office of National Statistics data – will be discussed at the union’s annual congress in Blackpool today [Wednesday].
Lifting the wages of millions of low paid workers and improvements to employment rights, such as day one sick pay, help explain the drop, the union said.
Ross Holden, GMB Head of Research and Policy, said:
“Workers go on strike when work doesn’t pay and bad bosses don’t listen.
“It’s no wonder we saw the biggest strike disruption in decades under the Tories who took the side of bad bosses and left our economy in chaos.
“This drop in strike days shows that employers have nothing to fear in Labour’s plan to Make Work Pay. It must be delivered in full.”
