The Labour Court has said complaints about breaches of registered employment agreements have increased by more than 300% in the past five years.
The Chairman of the court, Kevin Duffy, said this is a reflection of increased economic activity in key sectors, especially construction.
The court's annual report shows industrial relations continues to account for 90% of its workload.
The remaining 10% of cases were referred under various employment rights regulations, but Mr Duffy said these gave rise to 'a disproportionate amount of work'.
Last year the Labour Court was involved in high profile disputes such as the rows at Gama and Irish Ferries.
The report also shows that the number of cases completed by the court increased last year for the fifth successive year and were up 64% since 2000.
The number of cases last year increased by 12% to 882. The number of recommendations and decisions it made increased by 80 to 680.
The report says another main area of increase in the court's work relates to the number of referrals where employers do not engage in collective bargaining.
The Labour Court is obliged under law to give these cases priority over its other business.
Equality cases have fallen in number but that is because they are now referred to another body, rather than there being any firm evidence of a reduction in discrimination in the workplace.
The Labour Court is one of the country's main institutions for ensuring peaceful industrial relations.
It is an industrial relations tribunal hearing both sides in a dispute and then issuing a recommendation or decision.
It is also the venue of last resort for cases that seem intractable when other efforts to resolve employer employee disputes have failed.
