British Miners' Strike (1972)

The British Miners' Strike of 1972 was a nationwide (although not general) strike by coal miners across the United Kingdom in protest of low wages.

Background

The strike occurred after wage negotiations between the unions and coal industry had broken down. It was the first time since 1926 that British miners had officially gone on strike (although there had been unofficial strikes, as recently as 1969). Additionally, job security had been undermined as coal mines were shut down throughout the 1960s.

Events

The strike began in early January, with miners sending pickets across their mines and asking for solidarity strikes (which railworkers and power station workers agreed to). Power shortages emerged, and a state of emergency was declared on 9 February, after the weather had turned cold unexpectedly and voltage had been reduced across the entire national grid.

A miner from Hatfield Colliery, near Doncaster, Freddie Matthews, was killed by a lorry while he was picketing on 3 February 1972, and a huge crowd attended his funeral.^[10] The non-union lorry driver had mounted the pavement to pass the picket line and struck Matthews in the process.^[11] In the aftermath of the death, the picketing in the Doncaster area became more violent, with clashes reported with the NACODS members at Markham Main and Kilnhurst.^[11] Tom Swain, Labour MP to Derbyshire North East, remarked, "This could be the start of another Ulster in the Yorkshire coalfield."^[11] He threatened to "advocate violence" if an immediate government statement were not made on Matthews's death.^[11]

The strike lasted seven weeks and ended after miners agreed to a pay offer on 19 February.^[12] The offer came after the Battle of Saltley Gate, when around 2,000 NUM pickets descended on a coke works in Birmingham and were later joined by thousands of workers from other industries in Birmingham.^[13]

The result was characterised as a "victory for violence" by the Conservative Cabinet at the time, in reference to some clashes between miners and police and to some throwing of stones and bottles at lorries trying to pass the pickets.^[14]

Planned strikebreaking force

A volunteer force was planned in Scotland to break the miners' pickets during the strike. After release of government papers under the thirty-year rule, it has been revealed that civil servants, police, local authorities and other organisations worked on a secret project to gather hundreds of drivers to supply the country's power stations during the strike.^[15]

A Royal Air Force base was to be used for the unit.^[15] They were to have between 400 and 600 trucks and drivers.^[15] Fire brigades were also contacted to provide off-duty staff and volunteer groups to cater for the coal convoys.^[15] The role of the volunteers was to drive in convoys to break the picketlines blocking the supply of coal to the Scottish power plants.^[15] The plans were never put into the place because the dispute was brought to a close.^[15]

Wilberforce Inquiry

An inquiry into miners' pay, chaired by Lord Wilberforce, was set up by the government in February 1972, as the strike was drawing to a close. It reported a week later. It recommended pay increases of between £4.50 and £6 per week.^[16] Lord Wilberforce defended the increases, which represented a 27% pay rise,^[17] by saying that "we know of no other job in which there is such a combination of danger, health hazard, discomfort in working conditions, social inconvenience and community isolation."^[16] Mine workers held out for an extra £1 per week, but eventually settled for a package of "fringe benefits" worth a total of £10 million.^[17]

Creation of COBR

The inadequacy of the government's response to the strike provoked re-evaluation of emergency planning. The Cabinet Office Briefing Room (known as COBR) was created to coordinate responses to national and regional crises, and is still used in British Government today.^[18]