The public sector lost the most working days to industrial action last year, it accounted for 63% of working days to strikes in 2005, according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

The statistics revealed that the number of working days lost was higher in the private sector in every year since 2000. This is because each year there have been fewer disputes in the public sector than in the private sector, but they have involved larger numbers of workers.

The private sector accounted for a higher proportion of stoppages in 1996 to 1998 and in 2002 to 2003.