Just 3% of people have missed work due to industrial action, survey suggests
The ONS said it had asked a new question about whether people had missed work because of industrial action in the past seven days.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Strikes have had little impact on people being able to work, figures have suggested.
A wave of industrial action has been taking place in various sectors as disputes with the Government over pay and conditions rumble on.
Almost half (43%) of adults surveyed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stated that such action is an important issue.
The vast majority (97%) of working adults have not missed work as a result of the strikes, with just 3% saying they had, the ONS said.
The ONS said it had asked a question about whether people had missed work because of industrial action in the past seven days, as part of its wider survey on public opinions and social trends.
The survey period covered January 25 to February 5 but the ONS cautioned that the majority of responses would have been received before the February 1 strikes when hundreds of thousands of workers walked out in the biggest day of industrial action in more than a decade.
The ONS said their survey results – of 4,988 households in Great Britain with a response rate of 55% corresponding to 2,742 individuals – included people taking part in industrial action as well as those affected by it.
There was no difference between the sexes, with both 3% of men and women reporting having missed work due to industrial action, the ONS said.