Lockouts in the Netherlands: why statistics on labour disputes must discriminate between strikes and lockouts, and why new statistics need to be compiled

'Lockouts are a phenomenon greatly underestimated in research into labour relations. Despite the ILO recommendations many national statistical bureaus do not make a distinction between strikes and lockouts. This practice leads to false conclusions about workers' behaviour. After all, strikes and lockouts are two sides of the medal of labour relations but really two different sides. Strikes are a weapon of workers, whereas lockouts can be a means by which employers force their workers into a certain direction. The data on labour relations should therefore discriminate between strikes and lockou... Mehr ...