The world strike wave

The years since 1969 have seen a major increase in strike activity in nearly all the countries which collect and publish data on strikes. This wave of strikes has largely been caused by strikes over pay, probably connected both with higher rates of price inflation and a higher incidence of direct taxation on households. In some cases, the changed level of strike activity has also led to substantial changes in the structure of strikes, as we shall show for the United Kingdom and Australia, two countries which have suffered most from the strike wave.