Working days lost due to labour disputes

Once again Canadians show leadership! Yikes! As a Canuck I am staggered by this. I really can't recall any significant strike anywhere in the country last year. A multi-year chart would have been interesting as last year was economically difficult in most of the developed world. As Canada pretty much dodged the financial crisis and associated recession, perhaps people retained sufficient job security and confidence to be militant about their demands. Striking is such a stupid thing. Let's hope we don't repeat this honour.

It would be nice if this chart were given as a percentage of working hours adjusted for population. This might let Greece join the party.

I'm not sure why Canadian's are surprised about this. Ottawa had a multi-month bus strike and Toronto had a very long garbage strike (which I think included both inside and outside workers but the garbage is what I remember). This was closely followed by a similar strike in Windsor. Museum workers were on strike for practically the entire year in Ottawa. Some of the mines in Sudbury were closed for months due to strikes. Posters have mentioned Quebec but I don't think so. I recall university staff walking out all over Ontario and even auto and steel workers being locked out or going on strike, mainly in Ontario. I called Canada Post to track a package and found out their call centre workers were on strike in Winnipeg. Even Air Canada workers threatened to strike in the middle of the recession when their airline could have gone bust. Nurses got a hefty pay increase in Newfoundland with a barely (but still disruptive) averted strike. And there was a panic that the liquor stores would go on strike in Ontario but they managed to secure some extra coddling by politicians worried about suburbanites going dry on a long weekend. I know I had to change plans when VIA rail wasn't operating due to a CN conductors strike. These mostly public sector strikes have become such a normal part of Canadian life that we tolerate them and work around them. It is a game that ends for the most part in higher pubic sector pay/benefits even though the barely noticed strikes only prove that their services and work are hardly missed.

For the Economist a pretty pathetic chart.Cannot believe the Canadians strike more than the French? and many countries not even included? Not very impressive,also no comparison between private and public sector?

Canada? I am surprised and doubtfful.

worthless chart. even an acessment of as percentage of working hours would not be really be a valuable information: PLEASE have charts about PUBLIC and PRIVATE sectors!!
Those priviledged who work in the public sector tend to stike more often- countries with huge public sectors therefore tend to suffer from the "french disease".
Interesting would be the asessment of the damage done by the strikes, whats about the punktual strikes in greece, making the country unbearable for tourists??

Please disregard these figures.

The Economist has failed to do its homework on this one, using erroneous figures from the ILO. Each country compiles data based on individual criteria and therefore, no standard measure of work stoppage is available.

We carefully went through this a few years ago in the context of potential direct investments in North America. Recalculating Canadian industrial disputes using the criteria used by the USA, the number of working days lost per 1,000 inhabitants per year (average 2000-2003) fell from the 310.2 days to 37.5 days for Canada versus 23.7 days for the USA. While still not better than the USA,
comparable methodology repositions Canada from unacceptable to acceptable status.

I strongly suspect that the chart above is based on the same erroneous statistics.

Yes, we definitely need to see a "hours lost to labour disputes against hours worked in total" as well as a comparison between public and private sectors.
Still, I have a bit of a hard time believing that Canada is on the top of this list, unless the survey was only done in Quebec it just doesn't quite make sense. What a horrible chart to be at the top (or bottom) of.

First thing: I'd wager a million loonies the Canadian figure is lead by Quebec. Second thing: mises ghost has an excellent point, the Canadian economy is quite unique in its structure and private/public mix.

The figure is surprising, but The Economist has failed to deliver context with the figures. And from first hand experience, strike culture in Canada isn't half the fiasco it is in Italy. As a Canadian, I can say this chart feels misleading.

The Canadian figure does not surprise me. I moved to Canada from Korea, and I see so many lazy overpaid workers who constantly complain about the structure, government, unions and the whole world and never their own miserable lack of drive and skills.

Strikes here, strikes there, strikes everywhere. That's what I see. Street blockades over these issues, lack of public service due to these issues etc. have plagued this country.

Here's an immigrant's perspective that might shake things up for Canadians: "This place is filled with spoiled lazy bums who settle for mediocre jobs and constantly cry for more because they have a false sense of entitlement that they got somewhere. But there is more wealth, more opportunities, more land, and more luxuries here, so essentially we are now competing for a bigger party with less competition."

What did people forget about the huge mining strikes?

~~
In any case, I'd say this chart if accurate would prove the opposite about what the usual union panicking bunch would say. If Canada can be so successful while having relatively more strikes than some worse performing nations; then it might be fair to say that union terror is overrated as an economic break.

I agree with others' comments here. The experience in Canada over the past few years has not been one of significant labour unrest. These numbers seem misleading.

The only strike that I can recall in Canada last year was in fact the lockout of Parliament. Surely the MPs overinflated the figures.

I also recall a student strike at UQAM by humanities undergrads. I'm sure those lost days were surely missed (sic).

I'm surprised at how many are surprised by Canada being #1.
CUPE strike
Ambulance and Paramedics Strike
Parliament shutdown
Nurses strike
Waste management workers strike (the city was stinky for many weeks)

These are the ones I remember, and in the last 2 years I've been so busy I barely had time to watch or read the news about strikes etc. around us. This must be a mere fraction of all the other strikes, so add up some more strikes from the public sector, and more from the private sector that are plagued by out-dated labour unions, it's no surprise that Canada holds the top spot.

There's no surprise.

@Mises ghost

Well, Sweden probably got the largest public sector of all the countries in the list, see our position.

Please take away the ideology for a moment and check some facts... sorry, forgot the Austrian School thing... you don't care about the reality, do you...

China may included in...

This just reinforces the stereotype of the lazy Canadian.

Hard to believe the Irish numbers! You would have to have a job first before you could strike - and very few qualify for that luxury in Ireland

This Chart is incomplete without China & India in the list

harmsworth, if you can't recall any significant strike anywhere in the country, that's the problem with you. 2009 in Canada has been marked by a month-long strike of Toronto municipal workers and teaching assistants in York University. Recently, Montreal port workers have been on strike.