The year 2014 was marked by strong levels of social mobilisation in Britain, with 733,300 individuals involved in strike action (see article n° 8506). However, in 2015 this number reached just 81,000, which is the lowest level since records began, back in 1893. This number could well go down, with the new Trade Union Act set to impose restrictions on strikes.
This all-time low also marks a significant reduction in the number of working days lost, which hit its second lowest level since records on strike action began. Last year, 170,000 working days were lost, far fewer than in 2014 when a spike in social mobilisation caused 788,000 lost working days. The level remains higher than in 2005, when strikes were at a low level, resulting in just 157,000 days not worked.
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