How My Family Was Affected During the Coal Miners Strike The aim was to shut down both coal production and its transportation to all but vital services such as hospitals and nursing homes. The defeat of the strike led very quickly to the closure of most coal mines, a general deindustrialisation of the economy, the rapid privatisation of nationalised industries, the shattering of organised labour, growing unemployment, the hollowing-out of mining and other working-class communities, and a steady increase in social inequality in British society. 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. 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. Even at this early stage, Scargills cause was probably doomed. This led to legal action taken by out-of-work non-striking miners against Scargill's illegal strike. They opened and closed trap doors in the pits to allow for air ventilation. When did Margaret Thatcher become the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain? Therefore, in 1984, miners were not being paid, and their families were the only ones suffering from the strikes. Search the newspapers for more miners strikes. The government had already stockpiled six months worth of coal before the strike, anticipating that a strike might be coming. The degradation that is now rampant in the ex-mining communities has been well documented. On 18th December 2015, the closure of Kellingly Colliery in North Yorkshire, England, marked the end of deep coal mining in Britain. The strike was officially called to a halt on March the 3rd 1985. Who was in power for the 1972 UK Miners' Strike? Heath's campaign was famous for the phrase 'Who governs Britain: the government or the miners?'. However, was it really right that almost an entire industry was completely obliterated, with nothing to replace it in so many places? The deep imagery of coal mining in the 1970s shows a lifestyle - Medium Little more than 60 years after the end of the Second World War, Britain's last coal mine producer (UK coal) is fighting for survival. the 1984 strike protested Thatcher's plans to close mines and de-nationalise the coal mining industry. [1] Without coal during the . During the strike, there were violent clashes between flying pickets and the police. The days of British workers digging lumps of coal out of the ground to burn in power stations were numbered. Edward Heath introduced the 1971 Industrial Relations Act which introduced a legal framework for how Trade Unions operated and controlled how miners' wages could change. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was led by Joe Gormley, who demanded a 43% wage increase for miners in 1971. When negotiations failed, Gormley called for the 1972 UK Miners' Strike. Listen: Dominic Sandbrook explores the pivotal early years of Margaret Thatchers premiership in Britain, 197982. If you want more information about what cookies are and which cookies we collect, please read our cookie policy. They generally married young and had many of children. Bob Fitzpatrick has been a miner since 1983. I have drawn till I have had the skin off me: the belt and chain is worse when we are in the family way. 1975 1980 Average weekly Average hours Average weekly Average hours wage () worked wage () worked United United United United 1968 SIC Wales Kingdom Wales Kingdom Wales Kingdom Wales Kingdom Food, drink and tobacco 53.00 60.29 43.4 46.2 103.82 115.61 44.2 45.5 Coal and petroleum products 72.46 69.74 41.2 42.6 129.34 136.07 41.4 44.2 Coal mining in the UK: Where mines are still being operated and planned This wage practice, known as truck or "tommy", spread Between March 1984 and March 1985, more than half the country's 187,000 miners left work in what was the biggest industrial dispute in post-war Britain. Coal. Percentage changes in wage rates, miners, South Wales, 1848 - 1939 General Notes -----Note I. Find jobs. Occupations: 19th century coal miners - British Newspaper Archive They were the bringers of fire who enabled steam locomotion, iron and steel production, engineering, railways and transcontinental shipping. The police launched mounted truncheon charges against the miners, leading to 51 pickets and 72 police being injured. The miners, their families and their communities deserved better than that. National Union of Mineworkers - Spartacus Educational Upload unlimited documents and save them online. The coal industry was officially privatised. This led to violent clashes between the police and pickets, most notoriously at the Battle of Orgreave, where 5,000 miners faced a similar force of police officers. Prices and Wages by Decade: 1920-1929 - University of Missouri A 1994 European Union report named Grimethorpe the poorest village in England. The biggest rail strike in 30 years is causing severe disruption to passengers this week, with the walkout of at least 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union. Thousands of miners were arrested, fined, imprisoned or sacked, some never to work again. Like Scargill, Mrs Thatcher struck a remarkably aggressive, uncompromising tone right from the start. Did the Hundred Years War against France strengthen a sense of English national identity? 1991: US bombers strike civilians in Baghdad, 2001: Landmark Aids case begins in Scotland, 1975: Miners set for 35 per cent pay rises. Earn points, unlock badges and level up while studying. When did the Trade Union Congress call the General Strike? 1975: The 35% wage increase was instituted. The 1980 Social Security Act had reduced the benefits that striking miners' families received. In South Yorkshire, the focus is on Askern, a mining village to the north of Doncaster, where the pit functioned until 1991. How many hours did coal miners work? If the miners wife did well, generally the children also did well, going to university and getting a professional job. Police reports mention that the miners began the conflict by throwing stones and other projectiles at the police, but miners have since refuted this. You could write several books about the 19C coal miners, and related subjects. 1st March 1974: The general election resulted in a hung parliament. But as national unemployment mounted, it was obvious more closures would provoke an intense reaction. This had worked spectacularly well in the 1970s, but this time around McGregor and Thatcher were ready for the miners. It marked, in a word, the end of twentieth-century Britain and the ushering in of twenty-first century Britain characterised by speculative capitalism, the dismantling of workers protections and the rise of the gig economy. $32k - $76k. At first, this was not a problem as local union branches had deep pockets and could pay miners at least some of money they were no longer receiving from the NCB. Coal Miners | Trade Unions | Margaret Thatcher - YouTube Women Miners Work to Record a More Complete History of 1980s Labor Three times Scargill pushed his members to vote for a national strike; three times they voted no. The Miners' Federation of Great Britain became the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on 1st January 1945. The middle 57% of Coal Miners makes between $53,905 and $133,947, with the top 86% making $294,800. Mining had provided generations with a steady income, homes for life and a strong sense of belonging. The lamp helped to prevent explosions caused by the presence of methane in the pits. 525. Morning Post, 5 February 1840, A colliery explosion near Barnsley as the Darley Main Colliery. In the month of August, we have looked at occupations and employment through the newspapers. The National Recording Centre (NRC), founded by the Association of Chief Police Officers for England and Wales (ACPO) in 1972 helped the government prepare for the organisation of police units travelling to areas of protests and in figuring out how to deal with flying pickets (strikers who travelled to different areas to protest). Clashes between the police and strikers resulted in injuries and deaths and demonstrated a legalising of state violence against protesters, hailing in a new era of state control. 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. In particular, the miners supporters were outraged by the so-called Battle of Orgreave in June 1984, when mounted policemen charged pickets outside a South Yorkshire coking plant an event that has gone down in political folklore. StudySmarter is commited to creating, free, high quality explainations, opening education to all. One theory to be tested is that the miners who continued working had arrived more recently in the coalfield or did not come from mining families and thus had less conception of solidarity. You can. Sources. The 1972 strike was a result of Edward Heath refusing to allow the 43% wage increase the NUM was demanding. Average salary between 1980 and 1997 - Office for National Statistics Late Antique Opportunities? Women and older children were used to move the tubs or wagons of coal out of the mines. Was it a good thing that the miners lost? It may take a while to download. Roughly how many jobs were at risk when the National Coal Board announced its plans to reduce Britain's coal production by 4 million tonnes in March 1984? 371 men were in the pit at the time of the explosion and a large proportion of them were killed. How Thatcher broke the miners' strike but at what cost? Wherever they lived, of course, miners had miners families. Illustrated London News, 3 February 1849, A dreadful explosion at Ebbw Vale Colliery, Abercane in Monmouthshire. An alternative source of miners solidarity derived from the communities they lived in. From a purely economic point of view, it can be argued that it was. TV EYE reports from the North East where the particularly bitter memories of the 1926 coal strike fuel the deter. This important resource originally created by Ian Winstanley will give you a glimpse into the lives of your coal mining ancestors through photographs of major collieries, a collection of mining poems, mining maps, and 1842 Royal Commission Reports on the social and working conditions of those involved in the coal mining industry, from coal owners and . The Miners' Strike of 1984-5: an oral history 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. My Department's regular surveys of earnings do not provide separate information for particular grades specified in the agreements in particular years. pp. Down in a coal mine, there's no such thing as a "nine to five." Miners' Strike: 1970s, 1980s, History & Facts | StudySmarter History Modern Britain Miners' Strike Miners' Strike Miners' Strike Birth of the USA American Constitution American Independence War Causes of the American Revolution Democratic Republican Party General Thomas Gage biography Intolerable Acts Loyalists Powers of the President Quebec Act When another miners' strike began in 1974, Mr Heath called a snap general election hoping to rally public support against the miners. 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. Bonus. The police launched a mounted truncheon charge against the protesters, with 51 strikers and 72 officers being injured. While many former miners faced unemployment, others went back to college and requalified for new professions. It would take 2 tons of coal to make 1 ton of iron. Other miners' strikes in the 1970s had caused the public a lot of trouble, as there had been power cuts, but this time the government had prepared well. The average hourly pay for a Coal Mine Worker is $21.49. This act ultimately failed as the TUC refused to cooperate with the measures and increased their opposition. The horrors of these working conditions came to light in 1842 with the Childrens Employment Commission. This time around the gloves would be off. Fig. A settlement was reached when the coal board added an extra pound to wage rates after. Around 5,000 picketers matched 5,000 police officers at a British Steel Corporation coking plant in Orgreave, Yorkshire. Furthermore, police officers were drafted in from outside the striking counties, so law enforcement was unsympathetic to the strikers. When this plant-life died, it rotted away and was buried and compacted into layers underground. British Miners Built Their Own Power and Culture - Jacobin Unemployment rocketed to 50%. However, the setup was more matriarchal than might be imagined. When Margaret Thatcher Crushed a British Miners' Strike - HISTORY Coal Wage Index Average day wages of male coal miners 1830-1869 are given by Church (1986). 1 The 1926 General Strike was coordinated by the Trade Union Congress to protest against miners' wages. Miners reported that they knew they could rely on their friends and neighbours for support in hard times. The team's wages would be paid to the collier who was 'hewing' or cutting the coal, who was often the father of the children he worked with. Brief History of Policing in Great Britain, Brief History of the Association of Chief Police Officers. Miners across Yorkshire began strike action and on 12 March, a national strike was declared by the NUM, but no official vote was held. It is an endless routine of dull plodding world from nine years until deatha sort of voluntary life imprisonment. The end of the Miners Strike at Selby Coalfield in Yorkshire, England. 90%. As much as they were producers, the quintessential homo faber, above ground miners were also fighters. From an economic and ecological point of view, the answer is yes. Create beautiful notes faster than ever before. A wider context needs to be adopted in which the mining villages provide the foci but across which the connections are often much wider. To this day both sides have their impassioned partisans. Edward Heath refused the NUM's demand for a 43% pay rise and a strike was held in 1972. 4 Picture of 1984 Miners Strike (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Miners_strike_rally_London_1984.jpg) by Nick (https://www.flickr.com/people/34517490@N00) licensed by CC BY 2.0 ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en), Fig. Stop procrastinating with our smart planner features. Coal Miners (Pay) (Hansard, 27 November 1973) - api.parliament.uk 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. This entailed privatising state-own industries, thus reducing the subsidies provided by the government. 104-8, for 1871-94; F.A. It was surprising to observe the amount of indifference which prevailed among the pitmen as to whether or not they and their families could be turned from their dwellings. Grimethorpes story was repeated up and down the land. In the 19th century, one of the biggest advances to mining safety was the invention of the safety lamp by Sir Humphry Davy, subsequently, it became known as the Davy lamp. What percent pay rise did Joe Gormley, president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), demand in 1971? Asked By Wiki User. Flying pickets like military detachments were organised to force out miners at other pits. They set up support groups to run soup kitchens and put together food parcels for striking miners families, raising money from local pubs and clubs and then further afield, nationally and later internationally. the 1974 strike was a result of a similar dispute over wage increases and coordinated with the 1973 Oil Crisis. GenesReunited, The Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser, Hot off the press titles added this week. After the report, the public was horrified and Parliament passed an act in 1842 which prohibited women and male children under the age of 10 from working below the surface at the collieries. The miners and their families had endured months of hardship. Miners lived scattered across a wide radius and this clearly diminished camaraderie and solidarity. Men and women were required to behave according to certain norms, and if children misbehaved their parents would know about it by the time they got home. However, Doncaster was the centre of an arc of pits including Bentley Hatfield. By David Egan. In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister. Opposition to the strike was led by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who wanted to reduce . In 1971, Joe Gormley, president of the NUM, demanded a 43% wage increase for coal miners to counter the Conservative government's offer of a 7-8% increase. Monday to Friday. After 1945, Britain entered a period of economic hardship. . 5 The police force was integral in dealing with the 1984 Miners' Strike when conflicts arose. Miners' pension adviser jailed - Wales Online Fig. Another is that after the strike former miners, miners wives and children reinvented themselves, furthering their education, finding other occupations, becoming involved in other political and social causes, curating the heritage of the mining industry. Mining Economics / Wages - Staffordshire Past Track The Cabinet Papers | Strike build up - The National Archives The second difference was that the government was far better prepared in 1984 than it had been 10 years earlier. These communities were often at some distance from towns and cities with their concentrations of other workers. Crime increased by 30%. During the last thirty years over 10,000 men and boys have been killed and 25,000 have been injured in this industry. The miners were on top of the world in the 1970s, able to hold the country to ransom to stop pit closures and raise wages. All Rights Reserved. As a result, the strikers never really came close to causing the kind of coal shortages and power cuts that might have brought victory. One of Thatcher's key aims was to limit the role of government so that Britons changed from "dependent" to "self-reliant". Two striking miners dropped a 21kg concrete block from a bridge onto the car . The 1970s strikes were relatively successful for the miners, but the 1984 strike was a failure, and Thatcher won out over the protesting miners.