The Labour Relations Commission (LRC) recorded its lowest year ever last year for industrial disputes, according to its latest report published today.
The commission's annual report for 2003 reveals it dealt with 6,430 requests for assistance from disputing parties.Twenty-four actual industrial disputes occurred in the Irish economy last year, the lowest number since records began in 1923.
The commission said 82 per cent of all cases were referred for conciliation and handed over 4,700 referrals to its Rights Commissioner Service, together with 96 in-company industrial relations reviews.
Commenting on the figures, the LRC chief executive, Mr Kieran Mulvey said that they "represent a beacon of stability and opportunity for foreign direct investment and reflect the orderly conduct of industrial relations and the mature use of dispute resolution processes in the most global economy in the world".
The report reveals there were no actual disputes recorded in the third quarter in the Public Sector last year and only one minor such dispute in the final quarter of the year.
Mr Mulvey also outlined the LRC's involvement in the mechanisms set up in Sustaining Progress to resolve inability to pay disputes.
"The Commission maintains a panel of 13 assessors to advise on such pay disputes and the effective operation of this system in tandem with conciliation has meant that at year end no disputes had required binding arbitration by the Labour Court," he said.
Mr Mulvey said the LRC has been or continues to be involved in 81 disputes surrounding the pay provisions of the agreement.