In 1984, the National Coal Board (the UK Government department which controlled coal mining in that country) announced that an agreement reached after the 1974 miners' strike had become obsolete, and that they . The aim was to shut down both coal production and its transportation to all but vital services such as hospitals and nursing homes. Create flashcards in notes completely automatically. We cover everything from coal, smokeless fuel, logs and kindling, so theres information for everyone! $0.00. He did so by bending the rules of the NUMs constitution to ensure that McGahey would be over-age to succeed him. Today fewer and fewer remember March 1984 - and many that do might wish to forget it - but the tensions the strike created are often only just below the surface. The lessons of the miners' strike - and its defeat - are of great significance to the future of the workers' movement, and deserve thorough study. Theirony is that had he been president there would have been no strike. DKos PA. DKosLabor. The 1970s strikes were relatively successful for the miners, but the 1984 strike was a failure, and Thatcher won out over the protesting miners. A minority government is formed after unsuccessful coalitions - the party with the most seats controls the government but has difficulty passing legislation. The miners' strike was an attempt by the miners and unions to prevent the closure of 20 collieries across the UK. Over the previous decades, mining costs had been on the rise while the demand for coal had started to fall. Mrs Woodhead, now 68, remembers how during the strike, she borrowed plastic cups from a local school for the strikers' children to use. There are many benefits of using kiln dried logs for example they burn extremely hot unlike wood logs with a high moisture percentage and they last longer than other solid fuels such as seasoned wood. The three-day working week came into force on 1st January 1974, affecting many businesses. The 1980 Social Security Act had reduced the benefits that striking miners' families received. This significantly increased the number of miners who joined the protests and contributed to the national impact of the strike. The days of British workers digging lumps of coal out of the ground to burn in power stations were numbered. After all, if these decisions went ahead then at least 20,000 people would find themselves out of a job. Over 300,000 people rushed to California to find gold and "strike it rich". How was James Callaghan ousted as Prime Minister in 1979? On 3 March 1985, the NUM executive, running low on funds and with striking families struggling to feed, heat and clothe themselves, narrowly voted to end the industrial action, without concessions from the government. It would take years and millions of pounds of investment before the situation in Grimethorpe was reversed. It was a defining event in the history of industrial relations in the UK.. "I didn't know them from Adam; it was frightening. Following a question about the so-called Winter of Discontent, 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. The loss of the UK coal industry caused devastation across large swathes of the country, and some places are still only now recovering from it. 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. Read more about: Popular Culture A change in the law meant that the dependents of miners were not entitled to benefits, as they had been during the strikes of the 1970s. You see, by slightly altering the earth's rotation, the length of a day on our blue planet was . Compared to todays standards of production, the UKs coal production throughout the 1700s was considerably low with an annual coal output of under [], Coal is a fossil fuel which means that it was formed from the geological remains of living organisms. 2010. Deep mining for coal was already on its death bed by 1984 as cheaper exports from abroad combined with a reluctance on the part of government to continue with subsidies, a changing energy culture and a rising environmental movement all conspired against the industry. She encouraged the police to crack down on picketing miners and badgered local Chief Constables to block the mobile flying pickets which had been so successful in the 1970s. Education has also seen a large strike rate. 10 facts about the miners' strike. SK6 6HU The dispute was bloody from the outset, with deaths on both sides. Slowly throughout the year, more and more miners returned to work nationally, and solidarity amongst other mining communities started to dwindle. In 1977, Congress passed the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act in order to protect the mining industry's most precious resource - the miner. While most of the strikes across the UK were non-violent, there were a few occasions where fights and protests broke out, with a lot of the violence directed at strike-breakers - the workers who crossed the picket line and continued to work. if each line had e.g. Identify your study strength and weaknesses. During much of 1984, Britain was hit by some of the worst industrial action the country has ever seen, as the National Union of Mineworkers downed tools and upped pickets to resist planned cuts to . Mrs Howells went to work in a factory and now spends much of her time organising community events for the elderly women of Ollerton after the closure of the village's miners' welfare club left them with nowhere to meet and socialise. There was little point in delaying the inevitable. During this time gold was discovered in California. But the signs had been there for some time. 32,700 pounds of iron. Life for the residents of Grimethorpe got worse following the closure. She became a Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959, became leader of the . Both hardwood and softwood have their own burning benefits, however there are also different varieties within each individual category. This is mainly because disputes in this group tend to be large. The coal industry was officially privatised. The UK deep mining industry has now completely disappeared. McGregor's approach to the mining industry was the same as it had been towards steel - close unprofitable pits and drastically reduce the workforce. Scargill had risen through the ranks of the National Union of Mineworkers in the 1970s. MacGregor turned the steel industry around, making it profitable in 3 years. Heath introduced the Three-Day Working Week at the start of 1974 to combat the 1973 Oil Crisis, and the second UK Miners' strike took place on 24. A flying picket was the organised transportation of strikers to strategic workplaces, such as coal processing plants. SAVE 50% when you subscribe today 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 Women and Men of 1926: A Gender and Social History of the General Strike and Miners' Lockout in South Wales, Cardiff: University of Wales Press. The miners asked for 20-percent wage increases, and most were given a 10-percent increase. However, miners soon faced difficulties: By the end of the 1960s, an unofficial miners' strike in 1969 protested against the unfair working hours of older miners and wage decreases. Although she says she never resented anyone for not striking, when people treated her differently she thought: "You can get stuffed - you know something ducky, my husband is fighting for such as you. Scargill had a choice: lead them, or get out. To find out more information, get in contact with the best coal merchants on the market and speak to a member of the team today. Enter Rocker, who had spent years trying to entice the Jewish garment workers of . This entailed privatising state-own industries, thus reducing the subsidies provided by the government. The strike was declared illegal five months after it started in September 1984. 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. Perhaps the Orgreave inquiry could run in parallel with one into events at Saltleyin 1972. This time to protest against the Thatcher government's plan to close 20 pits. Police reports mention that the miners began the conflict by throwing stones and other projectiles at the police, but miners have since refuted this. 10 facts about the miners' strikeperiodic 3m system meetings with department heads 10 facts about the miners' strike. Upload unlimited documents and save them online. McGregors approach to the mining industry was the same as it had been towards steel close unprofitable pits and drastically reduce the workforce. Therefore, in 1984, miners were not being paid, and their families were the only ones suffering from the strikes. Only a quarter of the county's miners joined the national strike, according to the National Coal Mining Museum. History on our Side: Wales and the 1984-85 Miners' Strike, Ferry Side: Iconau.
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