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The commission interviewed children, women, and men who worked in the mines. At the end of 1981, the miners elected a new leader in the hard-left Yorkshireman Arthur Scargill, who made no secret of his eagerness for a confrontation with the government. Safety has always been an issue for mining from its early days to more recent mining accidents and catastrophes. The worst insults were used against strike-breakers blacklegs, scabs and at the limit violence was used against them. Although there was clearly violence on both sides, miners leaders often complained that the press exaggerated strikers violence while ignoring the abuses of the police. Total Pay. With the decline in the demand for coal, numbers in the industry continued to fall and by the early 1980s membership of the NUM was under 250,000. Everything you need for your studies in one place. Mining villages opened in Lancashire, Yorkshire, South Wales, Northumberland and Durham. What other forms of energy came available in the 1960s besides coal? On the inland plateau there were mining communities around the steel town of Consett in the north-west and Durham City in the centre. In the month of August, we have looked at occupations and employment through the newspapers. 2 This poster advertised the mining industry to Britons during the Second World War. Scargill used this as an excuse to call for a nationwide strike. After coming to power in 1979, she had her ministers and civil servants draw up secret plans that would keep coal moving around the country were the miners to attempt another strike. In County Durham the focus is on Chester-le-Street, where the pits at Pelton Fell and South Pelaw closed in the 1960s but which acted as a turntable between the inland plateau and the coastal area. + 4 more. But since the 1980s, the coal industry and its workers have been pushed to the periphery with disastrous results for the economic and cultural survival of British mining communities. Be perfectly prepared on time with an individual plan. 525. The tragedy of the Miners Strike was that picketing did less to unite the strikers than to divide them. The three-day working week came into force on 1st January 1974, affecting many businesses. Coal was at the heart of British industry and was even more important than other energy sources - such as electricity and petrol - that emerged in the 1920s. Calls for a further strike in 1986 were ignored and from 174 collieries in 1983, only six remained in 2009. Coal mines in the UK As of 2021, there were. Tens of thousands of miners went on strike following an announcement by Coal Board Chairman Ian McGregor that 20 uneconomic pits would have to close, putting 20,000 miners out of work. Have all your study materials in one place. Morning Post, 5 February 1840, A colliery explosion near Barnsley as the Darley Main Colliery. 16,779 per year . Average earnings by occupation and districts. Following a vote of no confidence in parliament, Callaghan called a general election for May 1979. Thirdly, it is an oral history approach, using interviews with a number of key miners, miners wives and supporters to allow the story of the strike to be told through the rich experiences of a selected cast of characters. Bob Fitzpatrick has been a miner since 1983. The coal workers had employed Colin Stanton . In the 1970s, the police had treated the miners with kid gloves. Thatcher stockpiled coal in 1979 and changed striking laws to reduce benefits to strikers. Mr. Skeet asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will update the cash earnings of coal miners appearing on page 156 of the Employment Gazette of March 1981 as 138 per week plus additional items aggregating 28 per week for the week ended 11 October 1980. But was it a good thing for the country that the miners lost their last battle? December 1973: Due to a severe lack of fuel, Edward Heath announced that most commercial and industrial establishments could only use electricity three days a week. But as the dispute went on, she became ever more outspoken, even describing the miners leaders as Britains enemy within. Fig. Percentage changes in wage rates, miners, South Wales, 1848 - 1939 General Notes -----Note I. Coal was formed between 170 and 300 million years ago. Grimethorpes story was repeated up and down the land. Wherever they lived, of course, miners had miners families. This is a British social realism film due to its realistic depiction of British people. 5 The police force was integral in dealing with the 1984 Miners' Strike when conflicts arose. British mineworkers' leaders have agreed to accept the coal board's latest pay offer of up to 35%. Opposition to the strike was led by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who wanted to reduce . Scotlands worst mining disaster, which involved my great grandfather might have rated a mention. Behind the women were politically active members of the local community and country as a whole, including Greenham Common women and gay and lesbian activists, who saw this struggle as a tipping point between social democracy, civil liberties and the welfare state and of the one hand, and on the other, neoliberalism, authoritarianism and austerity. Coal Wage Index Average day wages of male coal miners 1830-1869 are given by Church (1986). Children challenging educational inequality in England, 1944-1970. Coal output also increased to meet the higher production targets set by the NCB. Bonus. She conceded a, Arthur Scargill, president of the NUM, called for another strike. But the public vote went against him resulting in victory for the Labour Party. Since 1979, Nigel Lawson, the Secretary of State for Energy, stockpiled up to 6 months' worth of coal in case of further strikes. In the much-bleaker American Wales the large and small Rhondda Valleys, the Cynon Valley and Taff Vale flowed east and south to their junction at Pontypridd, the regional capital of the NUM, and on to the sea at Cardiff. The 1980s and 1990s saw much change in the coal industry, with privatisation, the industry contracting, in some areas quite drastically. Following a question about the so-called Winter of Discontent, James Callaghan reportedly said "Crisis? GenesReunited, The Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser, Hot off the press titles added this week. or Butty who had agreed to get coal for a fixed price per ton. The government announced on 6 March 1984 that 20 collieries would close, meaning that many mining communities would lose their main source of employment. Scargill refused to entertain the idea of any pit closures save for those that posed safety risks. What was the salary for a coal miner in the 1950s? This led to legal action taken by out-of-work non-striking miners against Scargill's illegal strike. | Report other issues | © UK Parliament. In 1980, Secretary of State of Industry Sir Keith Joseph appointed a Scottish-American economist Ian MacGregor as head of the nationalised steel industry, British Steel. Everything you need to know about Freedom of Information and how to go about making a request. For the period after the strike two dominant narratives are in tension. There is detailed account of the government inquiry in the Glasgow Herald of the 5th December 1877. 165-167. Get 6 issues for 19.99 and receive a 10 gift card* PLUS free access to HistoryExtra.com, Save 70% on the shop price when you subscribe today - Get 13 issues for just $49.99 + FREE access to HistoryExtra.com, Your guide to the miners strike of 198485, The 1888 Matchgirls strike: how a group of East End women changed British labour history. The dependence on coal increased throughout the United Kingdom from when the first coal mine was sunk in Scotland under the Firth of Forth in 1575. When groups of strikers travel to picket different workplaces. A miner could also be disciplined for failing to operate his lamp safely. In other cases, particularly in the Midlands, the mining village scarcely existed. But galloping over the horizon would be the woman who would prove to be their nemesis Margaret Thatcher. Noticed a typo? The year-long action was marred by violent . This time around the gloves would be off. Overall the offer falls just short of figures demanded by the NUM's left-wing at last year's conference. The coal industry in Britain was finally privatised in 1994 and is now known as UK Coal, by this time there were only 15 deep mines still in production and as of March 2005 the number dropped to 8. Especially, during times of protests and strikes. The conflicts witnessed between police and picketers were very different from the 1972 and 1974 strikes. On the 9th January 1972, miners from all over Britain came out on strike. When this plant-life died, it rotted away and was buried and compacted into layers underground. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was led by Joe Gormley, who demanded a 43% wage increase for miners in 1971. Unemployment rocketed to 50%. Average UK Salary between 1980 - 1997 for all age groups Average UK Salary between 1980 - 1997 for age group 22-29 or similar We said: Thank you for your request. In traditionally non-militant Nottinghamshire, many miners resented being strong-armed, as they saw it, into a strike without a ballot. It became illegal in 1817, but Secondly, it is a local and regional approach, a close study of certain mining communities in the context of their region. The horrors of these working conditions came to light in 1842 with the Childrens Employment Commission. A FINANCIAL adviser who plundered almost 1m from a Welsh coal miners' pension fund was jailed for three years yesterday. All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated, /aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/averagesalarybetween1980and1997, Average UK Salary between 1980 - 1997 for all age groups, Average UK Salary between 1980 - 1997 for age group 22-29 or similar. As the chairman of UK coal stated: It was suppressed by the government and resulted in the, The NUM and Thatcher negotiated her plans to cut subsidies to coal mining. In April of each year the agreed national standard rates of wages for the various grades of underground workers specified in the then current coal mining agreement were within the ranges shown below. Arthur Scargill, who had taken the president position of the NUM in 1982, saw the appointment as a threat to the coal industry following the methods MacGregor used for the steel industry. The 6 March 1984-3 March 1985, miners' strike was a major industrial action to shut down the British coal industry in an attempt to prevent colliery closures. However, was it really right that almost an entire industry was completely obliterated, with nothing to replace it in so many places? The miners had ceased work in protest of a reduction in their wages. The Afan Valley flowing east to west to Port Talbot, provided something of a link between them. The US government's ongoing assault on organized labor through the 1980s and 1990s meant that the mammoth energy conglomerates that dominated the coal industry were free to open non-union mines . 5 West Midlands Police in 1984 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Day_147_-_West_Midlands_Police_-_Miner%27s_strikes_-_1984_(14495625275).jpg) by West Midlands Police (https://www.flickr.com/people/61718807@N07) licensed by CC BY SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en). 1st March 1974: The general election resulted in a hung parliament. For example, the Risca Colliery Strike of 1849. When I drew by the girdle and chain the skin was broken, and the blood ran down. When did the Trade Union Congress call the General Strike? He determined that at least twenty unprofitable pits must be closed immediately for economic reasons, which was met with great suspicion by the National Union of Mineworkers, in particular the unions leader, the firebrand Arthur Scargill. Miners were proud of their work. The fact that he had not called for a national ballot first would soon come back to haunt him. After successful strikes in 1972 and 1974 which prevented pit closures, calls were made for strikes in the early 1980s, eventually leading to the strike of 1984-1985. Police from outside affected counties were bussed in to prevent picketing and strike action, and to ensure no disruption to supply lines. The longest strike was the 1984 UK Miners' strike, which lasted from 6th March 1984 - 5th March 1985. Copyright 2023 - Faculty of History, George Street, Oxford, OX1 2RL Best study tips and tricks for your exams. Desperate to preserve their jobs and communities, which often depended entirely on the local pit, the Yorkshire miners walked out, as did their Scottish counterparts. They found reports of beatings for those who were not quick enough or complained. The approach of this book is threefold. What percent pay rise did Joe Gormley, president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), demand in 1971? Thatcher and the coal miners' strikes in the 1980s, Crime and Punishment in Industrial Britain, Advantages of North and South in Civil War, African Americans in the Revolutionary War, Civil War Military Strategies of North and South, Environmental Effects of The Columbian Exchange, Native Americans in the Revolutionary War, An industrial union of all Britain's coalminers, created in 1945, that represented the miners during the strikes, The government department formed in 1946 that ran Britain's coal industry after it was nationalised, A protest organised by employees in which they refuse to work until their demands are met or negotiated, A line of protesters outside a workplace during a strike, The TUC called a general strike to protest decreasing wages for coal miners and poor work conditions. Oil companies diversified into coal when oil prices spiked during the 1970s, and offered surpluses to European markets. After subsequent government cuts, the mining community began to protest their treatment throughout the 1970s. They created an Emigration Fund to reduce the number of excess labourers and they provided assistance to West Moor Miners who were on strike to resist a reduction in their wages. Proving his worth, Thatcher appointed MacGregor as head of the National Coal Board in 1983. What were flying pickets in the miners' strike? According to a poll by the Opinion Research Corporation for the Evening Standard, published on 31 August 1984, some 94 per cent of the public disapproved of pickets' tactics and, when asked to pick between working and striking miners, 74 per cent sympathised with working miners compared to just 19 per cent with strikers. | Test your knowledge with gamified quizzes. But this time was different. $15 - $30. We don't share your data with any third party organisations for marketing purposes. The miners had gone on strike twice in the previous decade. They became travelling miners, living in villages which had a large proportion of miners but transported to the pit by bus or increasingly driving their own cars. What crisis?" This was the reason government took-over the mines during the war. STRIKES Many of our readers will remember the miners' strike of 1980s. Upon this not being granted, Gormley initiated the 1972 UK Miners' Strike. But it was more than that: to the communities involved, from Scotland and South Wales to Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, it often felt like an undeclared civil war, pitting village against village, family against family even brother against brother. "My father came home from the mines one day in the spring of 1910 wearing a pair of new elk hide shoes, and bearing the news that the miners were going out on . Joseph Gormley presided over a period of relative harmony in the coal industry for the rest of the 1970s and achieved the relatively peaceful closure of 40 pits in that period. Crime increased by 30%. They were all members of the union, which took care of their pay and pension and organised compensation in the event of injury or industrial sickness. The Miners Strike of 1984-1985 was an attempt by miners to stop the National Coal Board (NCB) and the government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher shutting down collieries (mines). The strikes ended on 5th March 1985. There was less support across the Midlands, and Nottinghamshire, in particular, was targeted by flying picketing in the hopes of preventing local miners from going in to work. Sheffield, in the south, was the national headquarters of the NUM but mainly a steel town and a cosmopolitan regional capital, a focus for activists who supported the Miners Strike rather than of miners themselves. Fig. All unions were also required to register with the government to retain their rights legally. Was it a good thing that the miners lost? 248 reviews 16 salaries reported. Let's find out about these strikes and the changing power dynamic between trade unions and the government. These wages were often essential for a family's survival. The three most famous strikes in Modern British history are the 1972, 1974 and 1984 Miners' Strikes. By spending eight months in a Durham pit village, Keith Pattison found out that the longest strike in British history wasn't all about cops and miners . There was little point in delaying the inevitable. And while the pits closed, the heritage of the mining industry was preserved through mining museums, the revival of banner-making for the Durham miners gala, and the political struggle continues through the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign. To finish our theme this month, we are taking a closer look at coal miners, specifically in the 19th century. Identify your study strength and weaknesses. Roughly how many strikes occurred during the Winter of Discontent? If you want more information about what cookies are and which cookies we collect, please read our cookie policy. Scargill had risen through the ranks of the National Union of Mineworkers in the 1970s. Coal mining in the UK For decades, coal mining in the UK was the backbone of the economy and stimulated regions including the North of England, Midlands, Wales and Scotland by employing hundreds of thousands of people.