Then came the miners' strike of 1974, which clearly showed the stranglehold of the NUM bureaucracy. The Christmas number one in 1973 was the classic Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade and its lyric, "So here it is Merry Christmas, everybody's having fun" captured the national mood. The Central Electricity Generating Board, which oversaw Throughout the 1970s the British economy was troubled by high rates of inflation. Relaxation now, would be seen as a sign of weakness on the part of the Government: the miners would be encouraged in their resolve, since a relaxation would be taken as firm evidence that the economy could not stand a three-day week and that the Government, rather than impose even harsher measures, would quickly settle with them. 7-8% increases. strike stretched into its second month. The strike occurred because wage negotiations between the NUM and the National Coal Board of the United Kingdom had broken down. Tories said they had all the answers?. Come November, the NUM rejected the latest pay offer from The bitter cold of January did not bring the power cuts. 'Who runs the country?' was the Tory election slogan, but the real answer was being delivered before voting day. In the ensuing talks, Heath failed to secure enough parliamentary support from Liberal and Ulster Unionist MPs; and Harold Wilson returned to power in a minority government. In 1974 the miners again voted for a national strike and the Labour's Harold Wilson gave the miners a 29 per cent pay rise. Heath reacted by calling a general election for the end of February amid growing power cuts and blackouts. With the price of coal rising too and stocks dwindling, Britain's miners rejected a pay increase and voted to ballot for a national strike. The report suggested a number of points that would defeat any challenge from Trade Unions. 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 start of 1974 saw much of UK industry operate under a Three Day Week restricting their electricity use. 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. Significantly, as many trade unionists had feared, the defeat of the miners heralded a sweeping round of wage reductions that affected some 6 million workers. Inevitably, this caused great disruption to industry, even With fuel supplies dwindling, the government declared a state of emergency on 9 February. The inside content does convey a bit of Freedom's waning . 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. strike in 1969. I remember it so well, my dad needed to support and feed his family Irish worker who worked in a tyre factory,worked on a pig farm to get pennies, every morning mum woke us up with a candle, no heating, lino floor,burnt slack on the fire, school uniform, tried her best to clean and dry this was in Wolverhampton factory closed,no power, no support from a job centre, didnt exist . He responded "You can't dig coal with bayonets."[4]. - Ernest Bevin was the minister of labor and national service and through the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939, Bevin had almost complete control over the British workforce. Wth the rug pulled from under his feet, Heath faced the voters, Harold Wilson emerged as PM of a minority government. This Car's Provenance Is Even Stranger Than Its Looks 1972 miners strike: Power cuts and picket lines across Edinburgh and the Lothians Allan Crow 13/02/2022 It was the first national. election of Mick McGahey to vice-president had moved the NUM in a more militant February 16 1972: On this day power cuts were introduced that meant some parts of the country were without electricity for nine hours a day. Government must not appear to be working for a major confrontation with the unions on the issue of the Stage 3 Pay Code. I was there then. This forced the government into action. Why did the miners strike in . mining industry. It was great fun while it lasted! In the great miners' strikes of 1972 and 1974, miners had picketed coke depots and power stations. laid off, doubling the number of unemployed in a matter of hours. Feb. 02, 1974 - Pit Strike is still on: Despite Mr. Heath's appeal to the miners yesterday to suspend their strike for the period of the election campaign, it was decided at today's executive meeting of the National Union of Minworkers to go ahead with the strike, due to start at midnight tomorrow. It means consumers will face longer power cuts, up from six to nine . The football authorities asked the government for permission to play matches on Sunday and on January 6, 1974, the first ever Sunday FA Cup games were played. Miners accepted the new offer in a vote on 25 February and returned to work three days later, ending a seven-week strike that demonstrated how important coal and electricity were to the nations economic wellbeing. 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. A week later the government ordered oil companies to cut deliveries to private and industrial consumers by 10 per cent. ", Comedians made jokes about the situation the country faced. Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to Fife Today, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, This website and its associated newspaper are members of Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). By the end of the embargo in Even so, I had a sneaking sympathy for the miners' demands for more money. [4], In the 1970s, most of the UK's electricity was produced by coal-burning power stations. Its edition on election day in 1974 showed hundreds of crosses on its front page to represent the miners who had died since nationalisation in 1947, accompanied by the message, "Before you use your cross, remember these crosses". It was . '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. Spending all day in the dark at the . 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. I have never been in a Union in my life but Scargills antics did right by me (and I expect many others) back then, happy days. [4], In the aftermath of the vote, there was speculation that the army would be used to transport coal and man the power stations. 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. However, ministers came to the conclusion it would be seen as a sign of weakness. . The Three Day Week ended on 7 March with normal working patterns returning from 8 March, although certain restrictions on electricity use remained in force for several weeks. This extended to most industries, including coal mining, which provided the majority of the country's fuel and had a powerful trade union. Margaret Thatcher, previously Education Secretary, replaced Heath as Conservative party leader. National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. 1985: Falklands' row civil servant resigns, 1972: Miners' strike turns off the lights, 1965: Beeching plans for 'bloated' railways. For children it was an exciting time to be growing up. I remember this era and it was very much a communist verses moderate conservatism from both the Conservative and Labour parties. (81% in support) of a national strike having rejected the National Coal Boards Grawe, Nathan D. "The three-day week of 1974 and measurement error in the FES and NCDS data sets" (No. The miners had always sought to deplete stocks by action short of a strike, and then impose a total strike when the economy was least able to resist it. This action hurt the coal industry and was unpopular amongst the British media, although the Trades Union Congress supported the NUM's actions. 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. A brief history of strike action Listen: Dominic Sandbrook explores the pivotal early years of Margaret Thatcher's premiership in Britain, 1979-82 The Thatcher factor First, the miners were divided. I was under 30 and felt very grown-up being responsible for two small lives in medieval cold.". It was great fun while it lasted! In late 1973, he reacted to the miners' work-to-rule by declaring his fifth . While the Conservatives played heavily on the governments Business leaders are again predicting widespread unemployment, severe. That fact dominated and shaped the course of the strike. They are demanding a 9 a week pay rise on top of an average wage of 25. No need to register, buy now! workers. The balance of power between the government and the unions in the Social Contract was controversial. Most of the mass power cuts finally came to an end in early March 1972, after miners accepted a pay rise offer of around 30 per cent from the Government. Miners 2002-11. [7] In contrast to the regional divisions of other strikes, every region of the NUM voted by a majority in favour of strike action. With good reason. and an agreement was finally reached in the early hours of 19 February. Public opinion would almost certainly see relaxation in face of the risk of a strike as an act of great imprudence. Conservative government of the day to impose wage restraint on public sector However, 297) and formed a minority government. In 1984, for reasons which we examine, it had to be miners picketing out miners. The Press has a special feature looking back on how widely the strike impacted on businesses as well as households who stocked up on candles to ensure heat and light. They were not, and so on the 9th February 1974, the miners came out on strike. 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. It lasted a year and was possibly the longest and most damaging dispute in Britain's industrial history. "Almost everybody loved it," says writer Robert Elms. In March 1984, the coal miners went on strike again. Arab countries reduced supplies to the West. We would have candles and mum made us all Bovril to drink. The facts must be presented in a low key emphasising the overriding need to meet the fuel shortage. For many it was like wartime Britain again but without the German bombs. WORK ID: NEFA 12610 (Master Record) Footage believed to have been shot by Durham Police Constabulary of pickets at Usworth Colliery near Sunderland during the miner's strike of 1972. The film shows striking miners picketing at the colliery and negotiating with the police. One of the most controversial events of the Thatcher years was the miners' strike of 1984/85. industries was produced by Conservative MP Nicholas Ridley following the fall of Edward Heath's government due to the 1974 Miners' Strike. His government emphasised the pay dispute with the miners and used the slogan "Who governs Britain?". With no late-night television people went back to doing things they used to do. The ruling class were visibly shaken. This stance meant oil supplies to the UK were largely uninterrupted, 01/09/09 - 23:15 #2. 1974: Miners' strike comes to an end British coal workers have called off a four-week strike following a 35% pay offer from the new Labour government in what is being seen as a resounding. Services deemed essential were exempt from the action. The February 1974 general election was dominated by the three day working week and miners' strike as an issue: Heath believed that this was a politically opportune time to hold an election because he thought, broadly speaking, the public agreed with the Tories' hardline stance on the issue of union power and strikes. The miners fought on for 11 weeks until they were forced to accept district settlements and wage cuts that ranged between 10 and 40 percent. The Prime Minister was Edward Heath not Health as per your report.
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miners' strike 1974 power cuts