The number of days lost to industrial disputes jumped in the first three months of this year, new Central Statistics Office figures show.
The CSO said an estimated 27,415 days were lost to strikes in the first quarter, compared to just 290 the same time last year.
Three disputes, including the nurses' strike, and a strike involving Supervisors on Community Employment Schemes took place in the three months from January to March.
The CSO said the human health and social working sector that made up the bulk of the days lost in the first three months of the year.
But it cautioned that its figure were estimated as it did not know the exact number of people involved in the industrial rows.
