Miners' Strike

History of coal mining in Britain

Let's look at a brief history of the coal mining community throughout Modern British history.

Causes of the strikes

Fig. 1 The 1926 General Strike was coordinated by the Trade Union Congress to protest against miners' wages. Many other industries joined in solidarity with the miners.

After 1945, Britain entered a period of economic hardship. Coal was recognised as the country's lifeblood, with many services still requiring steam power and electricity. However, miners soon faced difficulties:

• The coal industry was nationalised in 1946, which protected miners' jobs but also meant the government could decrease their wages.
• The 1956 Clean Air Act restricted coal burning in fireplaces in favour of cleaner fuels, leading to a decline in demand.
• In the 1960s, new, generally cheaper energy sources were being discovered, such as oil, natural gas and nuclear power.
• It also became cheaper to import coal from countries such as Poland and Australia rather than mining it in Britain.

By the end of the 1960s, an unofficial miners' strike in 1969 protested against the unfair working hours of older miners and wage decreases. In the 1970s, the NUM and NCB negotiated miners' treatment. Official striking began when these negotiations failed.

1970s miners' strikes

Let's look at the two critical strikes in the 1970s.

1972 miners' strike

Fig. 2 This poster advertised the mining industry to Britons during the Second World War. After subsequent government cuts, the mining community began to protest their treatment throughout the 1970s.

In 1970, Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson lost the general election to Edward Heath of the Conservatives. Heath promised a new style of government to strengthen the economy after Wilson's poor management.

In 1971, Heath introduced the Industrial Relations Act - what did this entail?

• It created legally binding agreements over wages and supply.
• It restricted workers' rights to strike by introducing an 'unfair industrial practice' policy.
• This introduced a National Industrial Relations Court (NIRC), which had the right to decide whether a strike was legal or illegal.
• All unions were also required to register with the government to retain their rights legally.

This act ultimately failed as the TUC refused to cooperate with the measures and increased their opposition.

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. On 9^th January 1972, coal miners across the country began striking.

The strike caused Britain's energy supplies to suffer greatly, and Heath had to schedule national blackouts. Under immense pressure, the government compromised with the NUM, offering a wage increase of around 30%. This made coal mining one of the highest-paid working-class jobs in the country.

Miners' strike 1974

The 1974 strike was an even more significant blow to the government - let's look at a brief outline of events.

• October 1973: The global oil crisis began - Arab oil-producing countries placed an oil embargo (legal ban on trade) on the United States. This also detrimentally affected Britain - its second most used fuel was oil.

• 12th November 1973: The NUM stopped overtime and halved Britain's coal production. By the end of 1973, a strike had been called for the following year.

• 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. The three-day working week came into force on 1st January 1974, affecting many businesses.

• 24th January 1974: The 1974 miners' strike began.

• 8th February 1974: Edward Heath called a snap election in response to continued failed negotiations with the NUM. He hoped the public would give the Conservatives a more significant majority and give him more influence in negotiations. Heath's campaign was famous for the phrase 'Who governs Britain: the government or the miners?'

• 1st March 1974: The general election resulted in a hung parliament. Labour formed a minority government as Heath refused to agree to a coalition and resigned.

• 6th March 1974: Harold Wilson became prime minister and immediately offered the miners a 35% pay rise, ending the strike and the three-day working week.

• October 1974: Another general election was called, and the Labour party gained a small majority of three seats.

• 1975: The 35% wage increase was instituted.

• 1976: Wilson unexpectedly resigned as prime minister and was replaced by James Callaghan.

Winter of Discontent 1978-79

In 1978, a strike led by the private trade union of Ford manufacturers achieved a 17% wage increase. The government was offering only 5% to employees of nationalised industries, so these industrial unions also began to protest. This period came to be known as the "Winter of Discontent", spanning the winter months between 1978 and 1979.

Fig. 3 Following a question about the so-called Winter of Discontent, James Callaghan reportedly said "Crisis? What crisis?" and demonstrated his inability to recognise the country's troubles.

Over 2000 strikes took place across the country, demanding pay increases - the government's reputation was severely damaged. Following a vote of no confidence in parliament, Callaghan called a general election for May 1979.

Thatcher and the coal miners' strikes in the 1980s

In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister. One of Thatcher's key aims was to limit the role of government so that Britons changed from "dependent" to "self-reliant". This entailed privatising state-own industries, thus reducing the subsidies provided by the government.

Fig. 4 The 1984 Miners' Strike divided the nation but demonstrated Thatcher's new approach to how the government would deal with Trade Unions.

To tackle the government's issues with the coal industry, Thatcher put a series of actions into place:

• Since 1979, Nigel Lawson, the Secretary of State for Energy, stockpiled up to 6 months' worth of coal in case of further strikes.
• The 1980 Coal Industry Act reduced the borrowing power of the NCB, thus reducing the number of subsidies granted to British mines.
• Ian McGregor was appointed in 1981 to de-nationalise the coal industry.

1984 miners' strike

On 6^th March 1984, the NCB planned to reduce Britain's coal production by 4 million tonnes and put around 20,000 mining jobs at risk. Later that day, miners at the Cortonwood Colliery in Yorkshire walked out on strike. NUM President Arthur Scargill called a nationwide strike but controversially did not hold a national ballot, so not all miners supported the strike. This led to legal action taken by out-of-work non-striking miners against Scargill's illegal strike.

The strikes ended on 5^th March 1985. Scargill was unsuccessful as the stockpiled coal meant that MacGregor did not have to compromise.

The 1980 Social Security Act had reduced the benefits that striking miners' families received. Therefore, in 1984, miners were not being paid, and their families were the only ones suffering from the strikes. Following the continuation of coal production after the strikes, MacGregor closed 20 pits.

Miners' strike riots

Although the 1984 Miners' Strike was ultimately a failure, Scargill's tactics had encouraged more militant action. The conflicts witnessed between police and picketers were very different from the 1972 and 1974 strikes.

Fig. 5 The police force was integral in dealing with the 1984 Miners' Strike when conflicts arose.

Scargill had organised the flying pickets witnessed in the 1974 UK Miners' Strike when he was president of the Yorkshire NUM. When he became president of the whole NUM, he introduced these tactics to the picketers during the 1984 strike.

Furthermore, police officers were drafted in from outside the striking counties, so law enforcement was unsympathetic to the strikers. 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.