800% increase in strikes - Govt reckons its cool!!! No worries!

There has been an 800% increase in industrial strikes - and the Labor government reckons its a good thing. Lol... only in Australia huh?

Gillard defends strike increase

Posted 1 hour 13 minutes ago

Federal Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard says the latest strike figures reflect a spike in the number of agreements up for re-negotiation.

The Opposition says Bureau of Statistics data shows an 800 per cent increase in the number of strikes compared to this time last year.

Ms Gillard told Parliament there was a rush for collective agreements ahead of WorkChoices and those agreements are now all up for re-negotiation.

"The more collective agreements that are coming up for re-bargaining in a period means the more protected industrial action may be occurring in that period because the only time in which protected industrial action can be taken is when people are rebargaining for a new agreement," she said.

"Obviously you are seeing the evidence of that."

But Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop says there has been an outbreak of strikes on the Rudd Government's watch.

"The unions are now taking strike action in the knowledge that with wall-to-wall Labor Governments there will be no comeback," she said.

"They clearly feel no barrier or no impediment to make these claims to go out on strike and we're seeing the consequences of that - this massive increase in strike action across Australia."