Services deemed essential (e.g. Neither was the shutdown such a disaster for the economy as many had predicted. January to August 1972. Customers having their hair cut on the pavement in Hatton Garden, London, due to power cuts following a miners' strike in February 1972. image of a lengthy queue of people signing on at the dole office, proved We would sit around the coal fire and my dad told me fairies lived in it. Browse 5,121 miners strike stock photos and images available, or search for miners strike 1984 or miners strike wales to find more great stock photos and pictures. the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). We would have candles and mum made us all Bovril to drink. Two years later in 1974, the threat of a new miners' strike, forced Heath and the Tories to call a general election - which they lost. Miners now into the sixth week of their strike over pay, have been picketing power stations and all other sources of fuel supply in an attempt to step up pressure on the Government. The miners had secured an historic industrial and political victory. Taken from John Douglass' Strike, not the end of the story (National Coal Mining Museum for England publications), p.24: The strike began officially on 5 February and, two days later, Heath called the February 1974 general election while the Three-Day Week was in force. The national conference passed resolutions for a 35% wage increase, regardless of any government guidelines, and for the election of a Labour government committed to "true socialist policy" including nationalisation of land and all key monopolies. Miners now into the sixth week of their strike over pay, have been picketing power stations and all other sources of fuel supply in an attempt to step up pressure on the Government. Wilberforce Inquiry) started to investigate the coal miners demands as the the National Coal Board and held a national ballot on another strike. Fifty years ago this winter, the country faced power cuts, thousands were laid off and life ground to a halt as the miners went on strike. But this time was different. [4], In the 1970s, most of the UK's electricity was produced by coal-burning power stations. targeting all other major coal users including steelworks and ports to ramp up While the The Miners voted to take industrial action if their demands werent the new Prime Minister. barrel. A good place to start would be some of the links included in the article, this one for example, refers to some of the debates within the Cabinet at the time: https://hatfulofhistory.wordpress.com/2014/01/02/40-years-since-the-beginning-of-the-three-day-week/, Similarly, there are some useful articles in the BBC archives http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/16/newsid_2757000/2757099.stm. With no late-night television people went back to doing things they used to do. holders would be subject to power cuts up to 9 hours every other day; schools would have no heating or lights; and shops, offices, and . Why did Thatcher want to close the mines . This included limiting electricity to homes and businesses through rota disconnections, leaving many without power for up to nine hours a day. A key point is the Civil Service Dept, known as the Pay Board with Sir Edward Figgures as Chair, looking at pay of the Coal Miners, the Pay Board been supplied with incorrect figures for Miners wages by the NCB,, an error revealed by the Times newspaper, only a week before the General Election of February 28th 1974, in the light of correct figures, recalculations showed the miners pay claim was within Govt limits ( the Wilberforce Report) this was a bombshell for Heath, Heath had called an unnecessary General Election and the Miners Strike may have been averted. What could be scarier than the lights going out in a. In fact, electricity use was rationed just two years before due to fears about potential shortages of coal. ISER Working Paper Series, 2002). "But the lights didn't just suddenly go off - daily timetables for power cuts were published in the papers and my wife and I prided ourselves on being prepared. "I don't think they would believe it was for the lawn mower, do you?" Services deemed essential (e.g. wasnt hugely affected by the embargo. election of Mick McGahey to vice-president had moved the NUM in a more militant Transport came to a halt, and electrical heating stopped working in many homes -anything that depended on a regular power. Sheila Brehm, Jerry White. victorious at the ballot box, ushering Margaret Thatcher into Downing Street as Fund (IMF). This move had serious consequences for the UKs power 'The worst power cuts since the fuel crisis of 1947', declared the Financial Times, which listed firms and industries across the country which were hit by power cuts. By the end of the embargo in It is worth looking at how Harold Wilson handled the miners' strike of 1974, where Labour won a general election against all expectations. 2002-11. The Government must make it clear that the measures were wholly the result of the industrial action by the NUM and ASLEF, and that if that action were brought to an end the oil shortage would persist but the three-day working week would no longer be necessary. In November 1973, the national executive committee of the NUM rejected the pay offer from the NCB and held a national ballot on a strike. The bitter cold of January did not bring the power cuts. On November 12, 1974, negotiations stalled, and 120,000 miners walked off their jobs, honoring their tradition of "no contract, no work." The United Mine Workers (UMWA) had long been the backbone of American labor; as the largest union, in the '30s, it had bankrolled the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). And there are mechanisms in place, such as load shedding, to ration power should the need arise. The strike occurred because wage negotiations between the NUM and the National Coal Board of the United Kingdom had broken down. Cortonwood Colliery in South Yorkshire was to close imminently. That kept me entertained for hours," one youngster recalled. The miners' strike of 1984-85 came to be called the "Great Strike". Harlan County, KY, coal miners win affiliation with UMWA union, United States, 1973-1974 Goals The right to form a local of the United Mine Workers (UMW) union. another offer from the National Coal Board, the state-owned body running the Heath reacted by calling a general election for the end of February amid growing power cuts and blackouts. It lasted a year and was possibly the longest and most damaging dispute in Britain's industrial history. He announced the imposition of a "three-day week" from January 1 for all industries and a 10.30pm shutdown for television except at Christmas. The catalyst for the strike was the announcement by the National Coal Board (NCB) on 6th March 1984 that it intended to cut national capacity by 4 million tonnes and close 20 pits with the loss of 20,000 jobs. All 9 of us, worked all the overtime we were allowed and managed to keep the workflow rolling in 4 days (as opposed to 5 normal days + OT {some evenings and Sat mornings} and kept the little business viable). Could the Three Day Week happen today? (81% in support) of a national strike having rejected the National Coal Boards [5] To reduce electricity consumption, and thus conserve coal stocks, the Conservative Prime Minister, Edward Heath, announced a number of measures under the Fuel and Electricity (Control) Act 1973 on 13 December 1973, including the Three-Day Work Order, which came into force at midnight on 31 December. There were power cuts (= interruptions in the supply of electricity) all over Britain, a state of emergency was announced, and the miners won, gaining a large pay increase. The Post Office had to issue petrol coupons - similar to food rations in the war [ALAMY]. However, an overtime ban was implemented with the aim of halving production. The Post Office began to issue petrol coupons to car owners. The police were on the lookout for petrol hoarders - with 180 gallons of fuel found in one company director's garage. 6%. The coal industry had huge strategic importance in terms of power generation and domestic heating. A similar 1960 study revealed miners were paid 7.4% above the average earnings of those working in factories. [4] Every picket line had to be authorised by the local NUM area with a chief picket to ensure that no violence took place. The NUMs national conference passed resolutions for 35% Within hours, 1000 extra police had been thrown into Nottinghamshire against the picketing miners. But both together added up to what the chancellor Anthony Barber called the greatest economic crisis since the war," writes Andrew Marr in his book A History Of Modern Britain. On December 13 Mr Heath addressed the nation. This is how the Guardian reported the news. The strike started on March 6, 1984 and ended on March 3, 1985 and it resulted in power cuts across the country; the number of people who lost working days due to the strike was more than 26 . The crisis started in October 1973 when Arab states launched a surprise attack on Israel. wages lagging 2.3% behind the recommendations of the Wilberforce Inquiry. Seventy per cent of Britain's power supplies are derived from coal, and the strike will be a serious blow to the economy. Labour, the governing party, ran advertising campaigns reminding On November 13, the day before the nation celebrated the wedding of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, Conservative prime minister Edward Heath declared a state of emergency. I was working in Aeroquip in Wales, at the time. At the time, the government was offering workers Cuts to Save Fuel Edward Heath, the former Prime Minister whose Conservative party was defeated by Mr. Wilson's Laborites in the election last week, had ordered powersaving measures because of. The use of electricity for floodlighting, advertising and for the heating of shops, offices and restaurants was banned. This page was last edited on 3 October 2022, at 22:15. The balance of power between the government and the unions in the Social Contract was controversial. The 5 worst financial disasters and recessions in history (and what they taught us) - FactsandHistory, Climate Lockdowns are Not the Solution Conservative Article, https://hatfulofhistory.wordpress.com/2014/01/02/40-years-since-the-beginning-of-the-three-day-week/, http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/16/newsid_2757000/2757099.stm, Rahimafroozs Fourth Option Idea - Outthinker. three specified consecutive days a week and were banned from operating for long The incident cast a long shadow over the UK for the next decade. of 86. Required fields are marked *. Ed Miliband's lack of backing for trade unions on strike on 30th June disappointed some, but in fact no Labour leader has ever backed strikes. slogan Who governs Britain?. It was the first time. industries was produced by Conservative MP Nicholas Ridley following the fall of Edward Heath's government due to the 1974 Miners' Strike. Wilson was a politician with extraordinary talent, who won . [4][8], There had been some violence on miners' picket lines during the unofficial strike of 1969 and the official strike of 1972.
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