weaken the NUM between 1984 and 1985 In

weaken the NUM between 1984 and 1985? In this lesson, we will: • Describe the views of the NCB and NUM with regards to British coal pits. • Assess who was in a stronger position during the strike. Starter: Why was the NUM such a problem for the neo-liberal ideology held by Thatcherites?

How weak was British coal by 1984? • The mining industry was effectively a closed shop. Although not official policy, employment of nonunionised labour would have led to a mass walkout of mineworkers. • Throughout the 20 th Century, the British coal industry had been in crisis. Coal was becoming more expensive to mine. • Attlee’s government had nationalised the coal industry in 1948, but this led to years of little investment or modernisation. • In 1982– 23, the operating loss per tonne was £ 3. 05, and international market prices for coal were about 25% cheaper than that charged by the NCB

Learning Task One For each: Identify what their case was for British coal pits. Explain why they thought this.

How prepared was the government? • Clause 6 of the 1980 Social Security Act banned the dependents of strikers from receiving "urgent needs" payments and applied a compulsory deduction from the benefits of strikers' dependents. • In 1980 and 1982, two Employment Acts had been passed which banned mass picketing, scrapped the ‘closed shop’ and declared any action illegal if it was not voted by formal ballot. • Thatcher’s government had been stockpiling coal and coak at the fuel stations and drafting emergency plans for importing further stocks should it be needed. • Ian Mc. Gregor had been appointed chairman of the National Coal Board. He had previously made huge cuts in the steel industry to increase it’s productivity.

What caused the 1984 • On 6 March 1984, the NCB leader Ian Mac. Gregor strike? announced to reduce government subsidies, 20 collieries would close with a loss of 20, 000 jobs. • Many communities in Northern England, Scotland Wales would lose their primary source of employment. • Arthur Scargill said the government had a long-term strategy to close more than 70 pits. • The government denied the claim and Mac. Gregor wrote to every NUM member claiming Scargill was deceiving them and there were no plans to close any more pits than had already been announced. • Regardless, pits across the country began to go out on strike.

Where did it take place? The first wave took place across Yorkshire. More than 6, 000 miners went on strike in Wakefield on 5 th March. Smaller strikes took place at pits in Nottinghamshire. On 12 March 1984, Scargill declared the NUM's support for the regional strikes in Yorkshire and Scotland, and called for action from NUM members in all other areas. However, he decided not to hold a nationwide vote which was used by his opponents to delegitimise the strike. The strike was almost universally observed in South Wales, Yorkshire, Scotland, North East England Kent, but there was less support across the Midlands and in North Wales.

Case Study: The Battle of Orgreave On 18 June 1984, miners blocked haulage firms carrying th coke in Oregeave Coking Plant. 5, 000 NUM strikers saw themselves facing 6, 000 officers from 18 different forces at Orgreave, equipped with riot gear and supported by police dogs and 42 mounted police officers It soon broke into violence after police on horseback charged the picket line with truncheons. 123 people were injured, and 95 NUM strikers arrested. Thatcher’s critics accused her of ‘politicising’ the police – claiming they were being used as soldiers of her government rather than protectors of law and order. In June 1991, South Yorkshire Police paid £ 425, 000 in compensation to 39 miners for assault, wrongful arrest, unlawful detention and malicious prosecution.

It was like a war zone. They were throwing bottles and bricks. The crowds were made up of some miners, but also a lot of students. They would throw things at the windows, that’s why we had to get the mesh put round the windows. To protect the drivers from the bricks and bottles. We used to drive down backroads – they would put gates across the fields to stop the lorries. Anything to stop us. We were told when we approached traffic lights to keep going – if we stopped, they would have attacked us. The bridges of dual carriageways – bricks, concrete, paving slabs, anything at all to drop on top of the trucks to stop them. John Russell, haulage driver for Scottish company ‘Yule and Dodds’ who broke the picket lines to keep coal coming into Ravenscraig Steel Factory,

How did the strike come to an end? • Working miners in Nottinghamshire and South Derbyshire set up a new union: the Union of Democratic Mineworkers. • Ian Mac. Gregor strongly encouraged the UDM. • By January 1985, the amount of men returning to work increased as they struggled to pay for food. The strike officially ended on 3 March 1985. • The South Wales area called for a return to work on condition that men sacked during the strike would be reinstated, but the NCB rejected the proposal.

Learning Task Two Look at the tactics on the handout and sort them into Government and Miner’s tactics • Why were these tactics used? With your partner go through each of the tactics and evaluate their effectiveness. • Leave space under each card sort to write your response.