WOMEN AND THE MINERS’ STRIKE 1984 – 85 KEY STAGE 4 Economic problems led to major strikes in the coal industry across the U.K.in 1972 and 1974. These strikes were supported by the Labour Party. In 1974 the strikes played a key role in bringing down the Conservative government whose leader at that time was Edward Heath. The Labour Party was in power during “the Winter of Discontent” of 1978-79 when industrial disputes and strikes by public sector trade unions had harsh effects on the public. This led to a significant surge in voter support for the Conservative Party. A referendum on devolution held in Wales in March 1979 resulted in a ‘No’ vote by a majority of 4 to 1 and in May that year the Conservatives won the General election under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher. In Wales the Conservatives had their best election result since the 1860s. Mrs Thatcher aimed to weaken the influence of organised labour movements in order to allow greater freedom for the markets and easier privatisation of state industries. In her view, it was more important to control inflation than to control unemployment. Her government introduced changes to trade union law, designed to weaken the unions’ control over working practices. One of these changes made it compulsory to ballot workers when a strike was proposed. In 1981 the Conservative government proposed the closure of some coal pits but backed down when faced with the threat of a miners’ strike. However, in 1982, the Conservatives were buoyed up by victory in the Falklands War. In March 1983 Mrs Thatcher appointed industrialist, Sir Ian MacGregor to head the National Coal Board. She knew that his reputation as a ruthless enforcer of cuts and redundancies would show that her government intended to challenge the power of the unions. When the Conservatives won a solid victory in the General Election of June 1983 the government was ready to act. Because of its close links to the Labour Party and its militancy (that is, its readiness to take robust and public action) the most significant union the Conservative government could challenge was the National Union of Mineworkers. On March 6 th , 1984 the National Coal Board announced that it aimed to cut coal production by 4 million tonnes and close 20 pits with the loss of 20,000 jobs. On the 12 th March, Arthur Scargill, president of the NUM, called a national strike against these proposals. The strike was illegal because no ballot was held. The coal industry in Wales had already been facing decline. Since nationalisation of the coal industry in 1947 more than 200 pits had closed and 97,000 jobs had been lost in the south Wales coalfield. In communities where coal production was the major industry, people were ready to back a strike against pit closures, though support was stronger in the south than in the north of Wales. In 1984 35% of the 1000 mine-workers in North Wales went on strike. In the South Wales coalfield strikers made up 99.6 % of the industry’s 21,500 employees and support had only !"#$%&'"#%()$*+,-"./01"" " " 02." dropped to 93% by the strike’s end. This was most consistent level of support for the strike anywhere in the U.K. Strikers in Britain were not allowed to claim state benefits but their wives and children had been able to make hardship claims. However the Conservative government, in 1980, removed this entitlement. The deprivation faced by the strikers and their families was intense. Many women in the strike-affected communities reacted dynamically. They organised communal food provision, raised funds and represented the strike in the media. Women in the coalfields had been active supporters of strike action in the past but never before had they taken such a public lead. The strike failed for many reasons, including the following: it was not fully supported by other major unions; the violence between strikers and police caused public concern; the police and the judiciary were used robustly to enforce legal penalties; the NUM’s funds were put beyond its reach because it would not comply with injunctions to call off the strike. In south Wales a tragic incident accelerated the end of the strike. A miner who had not joined the strike was being driven to the Merthyr Vale mine in a taxi when two striking miners dropped a concrete block from a bridge onto the car. The taxi driver, David Willie was killed. Public support for the strike weakened further as a result. The strike ended on 3 rd March 1985. By the end of the Eighties only 4,000 men were employed in the industry in south Wales and in 1994 it was privatized. The strike had profound effects in Wales. It highlighted, for the whole country of Wales, the value of the communal spirit shown by mining communities and it made people proud to see that they could work together for the common good. Many women experienced their own capacity to lead and to seek education and training. It increased determination to find ways in which the people of Wales could have more influence over political decisions that particularly affected them. It increased the appetite for bringing decision-making closer to home. This would contribute to a ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum on devolution in 1997. !"#$%&'"#%()$*+,-"./01"" " " .2.".