Lockout (industry)

A lockout is a temporary work stoppage or denial of employment initiated by the management of a company during a labor dispute. This is different from a strike, in which employees refuse to work. It is usually implemented by simply refusing to admit employees onto company premises, and may include actions such as changing locks and hiring security guards for the premises. Other implementations include a fine for showing up, or a simple refusal of clocking-in on the time clock. It is therefore referred to as the antithesis of strike.

Causes

A lockout is generally used to enforce terms of employment upon a group of employees during a dispute. A lockout can act to force unionized workers to accept changed conditions such as lower wages. If the union is asking for higher wages, better benefits or to maintain their benefits, an employer may use the threat of a lockout or an actual lockout to convince the union to back down.

Examples

Ireland

The Dublin Lockout (Irish: Frithdhúnadh Mór Bhaile-Átha-Cliath) was a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers which took place in Ireland's capital city of Dublin. The dispute lasted from 26 August 1913 to 18 January 1914, and is often viewed as the most severe and significant industrial dispute in Irish history. Central to the dispute was the workers' right to unionize.

Lockout

Lockout may refer to:

Industry

Industry is the production of goods or services within an economy. The major source of revenue of a group or company is the indicator of its relevant industry. When a large group has multiple sources of revenue generation, it is considered to be working in different industries. Manufacturing industry became a key sector of production and labour in European and North American countries during the Industrial Revolution, upsetting previous mercantile and feudal economies. This occurred through many successive rapid advances in technology, such as the production of steel and coal.

Following the Industrial Revolution, possibly a third of the world's economic output is derived that is from manufacturing industries. Many developed countries and many developing/semi-developed countries (People's Republic of China, India etc.) depend significantly on manufacturing industry. Industries, the countries they reside in, and the economies of those countries are interlinked in a complex web of interdependence.