Pit and the Pendulum Prelims.qxd 02/03/04 13:34 Page i POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN WALES The Pit and the Pendulum Pit and the Pendulum Prelims.qxd 02/03/04 13:34 Page ii POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN WALES SERIES Series editor: Ralph Fevre Previous volumes in the series: Paul Chaney, Tom Hall and Andrew Pithouse (eds), New Governance – New Democracy? Post-Devolution Wales Neil Selwyn and Stephen Gorard, The Information Age: Technology, Learning and Exclusion in Wales Graham Day, Making Sense of Wales: A Sociological Perspective Richard Rawlings, Delineating Wales: Constitutional, Legal and Administrative Aspects of National Devolution The Politics and Society in Wales Series examines issues of politics and government, and particularly the effects of devolution on policy-making and implementation, and the way in which Wales is governed as the National Assembly gains in maturity. It will also increase our knowledge and understanding of Welsh society and analyse the most important aspects of social and economic change in Wales. Where necessary, studies in the series will incorporate strong comparative elements which will allow a more fully informed appraisal of the condition of Wales. Pit and the Pendulum Prelims.qxd 02/03/04 13:34 Page iii POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN WALES The Pit and the Pendulum A COOPERATIVE FUTURE FOR WORK IN THE WELSH VALLEYS By MOLLY SCOTT CATO Published on behalf of the Social Science Committee of the Board of Celtic Studies of the University of Wales UNIVERSITY OF WALES PRESS CARDIFF 2004 Pit and the Pendulum Prelims.qxd 04/03/04 16:01 Page iv © Molly Scott Cato, 2004 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 0–7083–1869–X All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without clearance from the University of Wales Press, 10 Columbus Walk, Brigantine Place, Cardiff, CF10 4UP. Website: www.wales.ac.uk/press The right of Molly Scott Cato to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Typeset by Bryan Turnbull Printed in Wales by Dinefwr Press, Llandybïe Pit and the Pendulum Prelims.qxd 02/03/04 13:34 Page v For the people of the Welsh Valleys Pit and the Pendulum Prelims.qxd 02/03/04 13:34 Page vi ‘Lord’, said he, ‘we have risked our lives, and would do it again, but the country and the people for whom we slave ought to think a little more about us.’ Comment by one of the rescuers at the Tynewydd mining disaster reported in Buried Alive! A Narrative of Suffering and Heroism, Being the Tale of the Rhondda Colliers as Related by Themselves (London, 1877). Pit and the Pendulum Prelims.qxd 02/03/04 13:34 Page vii Contents List of Figures viii List of Photographs viii List of Tables ix Series Editor’s Foreword xi Preface xv Acknowledgements xvii A Note on Data Sources and Language xviii List of Abbreviations xix 1 Welcome to the World of Work 1 2 Living on Songs and Hope: An Employment Profile of the Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough 23 3 Global Saviours or Local Champions: The History of Inward Investment in Wales 57 4 The Story of the Waxwork Miners: Cultural Aspects of Employment Policy in Rhondda Cynon Taff 90 5 Handbags and Glad Rags: What is Work for in the Valleys? 117 6 Instrument of Virtue or Secret Happiness? Local Views of the Economy 143 7 Tower of Strength, Beacon of Hope: A Case Study of Tower Colliery 174 8 Conclusion: An Employment Policy Fit for Rhondda Cynon Taff 204 Notes 243 References 254 Index 271 Pit and the Pendulum Prelims.qxd 02/03/04 13:34 Page viii Figures 2.1 Map of the study area 28 2.2 Percentage of total working population who are unemployed by ward 30 2.3 Levels of educational achievement in various Welsh local authority areas 33 2.4 Decline in employment in mining since 1947 38 2.5 Mines in the Rhondda and Cynon Valleys and Taff Ely that are now closed 39 2.6 Focus rate of unemployment in Rhondda Cynon Taff 42 2.7 Increases and decreases in male and female full-time and part-time employment in the study area, Wales and the UK, 1981–2001 54 3.1 Relationship between disposable income per head and manufacturing inward investment 69 3.2 Relationship between disposable income per head and non-manufacturing inward investment 69 7.1 Trends in coal consumption, 1970 to 2001 178 7.2 Trends in coal production and imports, 1970–2001 179 Photographs 1.1 The village of Pontygwaith in the Rhondda Fach valley 5 1.2 Two faces of Penrhys 6 2.1 The Colliers, Trealaw 37 2.2 View of the Rhondda Fawr valley from Penrhys 50 3.1 A view up the Rhondda Fach valley from Ferndale 63 3.2 A hopeful appeal in Pontygwaith 77 4.1 Waxwork miners at the Rhondda Heritage Park 102 4.2 The modern image of Valleys worker 103 4.3 Prototypical worker as chosen by Oxford University Press 104 7.1 The winding gear at Tower Colliery 177 7.2 Publicity sign at Tower Colliery 196 8.1 Daniel Morris of Maerdy Farm, Rhondda Fach 212 8.2 Abercwmboi, Cynon Valley, in the rain 227 Pit and the Pendulum Prelims.qxd 02/03/04 13:34 Page ix Tables 2.1 Population rates in Rhondda-Cynon-Taff, 1996 and 2001 31 2.2 Hourly rates of pay in RCT, Wales and UK, 1999 32 2.3 Historical GDP index for Mid Glamorgan, 1981–1998 33 2.4 RCT wards in top 100 most deprived Welsh boroughs 34 2.5 Selected deprivation indicators for the ten most deprived RCT boroughs, 1991 35 2.6 Number of employees in mining industry in the three parts of the study area, 1979 and 1987 compared 38 2.7 Sectors of employment: RCT, Wales and GB compared, 1999 41 2.8 Rates of commuting in south Wales boroughs, 2001 41 2.9 Unemployment rates in RCT travel-to-work areas, 1996 and 1999 43 2.10 Unemployment by age in RCT wards, April 1998 43 2.11 Unemployment duration by age in RCT, 1999 44 2.12 Economic inactivity rates in RCT, Wales and UK, 1999 47 2.13 Male sickness claimants, August 2001, top twenty districts: percentage of 16–64-year-old men claiming sickness benefit 48 2.14 Standardized mortality ratios in Rhondda-Cynon-Taff, 1995–1999 48 2.15 Percentage of household members with a limiting long-term illness by sex and age, 1997 48 2.16 Percentage change in male–female employment rates, 1984–1991 by SIC 54 2.17 Sex segregation in choice of jobs/training opportunities and further education courses in RCT, 1994/1995 55 3.1 Employment in foreign-owned units by country of ownership, 1991, 1996 and 2001 59 3.2 Employment in foreign-owned units by industry grouping, 1991, 1996 and 2001 59 3.3 Employment in foreign-owned units by county, 1991, 1996 and 2001 60 3.4 Distribution of inward investment by UK region, 2001/2002 63 3.5 Extent of various corporate research, design and development activities provided locally or supplied from the parent company for Welsh foreign-owned companies, 1999 67 3.6 VAT registrations and de-registrations in Welsh unitary authorities, 2001 72 3.7 Sourcing of materials and services in the host region and calculations of indirect turnover generated per £1m of direct sales, 1999 76 5.1 Details of companies selected for survey sample and response rates 125 Pit and the Pendulum Prelims.qxd 02/03/04 13:34 Page x x Tables 5.2 Summary statistics for demographic variables by employer: 127 5.3 Summary statistics for job-satisfaction variables by employer 128 5.4 Results of ANOVA tests by employment sector for various variables 130 5.5 Results of ANOVA tests by employment sector and sex for various variables 130 5.6 Mean values of variables measuring perceived earnings, by sector, and results of F-tests for significant variation 132 5.7 Mean values of variables measuring perceived social worth, by sector, and results of F-tests for significant variation 133 5.8 Mean values of variables measuring extent of preference for occupations, by sector, and results of F-tests for significant variation 133 5.9 Ranking of various occupations by social worth, perceived earnings, and subjective preference, by sector 135 5.10 Correlation and rank correlation of earnings and preference and social worth and preference by type of employer 135 5.11 Mean values and ranking of job creation rationales, by sector 137 5.12 Number of respondents selecting each rationale from six, by employer sector 137 5.13 Number of respondents selecting each rationale as first preference, by employer sector 138 6.1 Demographic details of the interview sample 147 7.1 Final reserves and resources statement for UK deep-mine collieries, December 2002 181 7.2 Historical production performance at Tower Colliery 181 8.1 Comparison of number of registered charities and their income, in UK regions, 1997 229 8.2 Paid and voluntary work in the voluntary sector in UK regions, 1996 230 8.3 Levels of central and local government expenditure on the voluntary sector, 1996 230 Pit and the Pendulum Prelims.qxd 02/03/04 13:34 Page xi Series Editor’s Foreword It must be blindingly obvious to the most casual observers that the Valleys of south Wales have economic problems but it takes courage and imagination to argue that we will not find the solutions to these problems in economics.