The Miners Strike

[Jordi Culé]

Re: The Miners Strike

Well said, and it was called the “economic miracle” . What happened in 2008 and all of the suffering caused by “we’re all in it together” austerity had its roots in the Thatcherite eighties with its deregulation of financial markets.

It’s enlightening talking some of the old stagers up here in Treherbert about what the mining villages around here used to be like. The soot that used to appear on washing hung out to dry is not missed of course, but when you hear about things like the cinemas, theatres, sports halls, small businesses and shops which closed in the years after the mines went, it’s heart breaking.

The only villages in the Rhondda past Tynewydd where I live are Blaenrhondda and Blaencwn - the first named has a post office and a working mens club which is rarely open these days and that’s it, while the other has just a pub/hotel which I’m not sure whether it has reopened after look down. There used to be another village close to Blaenrhondda called Fernhill, but it doesn’t exist any more - it was demolished soon after the mines were.

I'll echo some of those sentiments Bob.

I grew up in Aberfan, Merthyr Vale colliery in sight of my parents house and heated the pit hooter daily. Played football for a local boys club that was just outside the grounds of Deep Navigation.

The miners also contributed to a number of local services which were benefits of the community. In Deep Nav's case most miners contributed a few pence to the Boys club. Miners Gala's, local events and services all receiving money from the miners also.

In relation to the 'strike', I was 12 or 13 when it started. It had a big impact on me as I saw mates rummaging for coal on tips, soup kitchens, food parcels for families within the close community.

Throw in the death of David Wilkie and a number of suicides, probably brought about by the strike, the whole human wasn't lost on me at all.

Families fractured, communities shattered and then left to get on with it.

[bobh]

Re: The Miners Strike

The social cost cannot be measured. The bastards were clever enough to run the country, yeah right, but not clever enough to find an alternative solution to the loss of heavy industry, then again did they want to? Permanent, long term employment is vital to everyday life, gives people confidence, a few bob in their pockets, the dignity of not relying on handouts. Youngsters can’t be riding around football pitches on mopeds at three in the morning if they’ve got to be up for 6 till 2.

Thing is now though, as the years have gone by, relying on handouts doesn’t bear the stigma it used to (and shouldn’t I may add), I fear it’s gone too far and it’ll never be got back. There’s a couple of lost generations all due to that woman’s vision. I often say that I’m glad I lived in the era I’ve lived in, even though in my previous post I bemoaned those dark Thatcher years. I fear things aren’t going to improve any time soon and society is going to continue to crumble unless we get a government that can grab things by the scruff of the neck and drag the country back to decency. The gap between the haves and have nots is staggering and a lot of the haves are among the shadier section of the population.

I’ve not got the answer but there’s got to be some clever f*ckers with the brains to sort things out. I’ve no faith in anyone in politics at the moment sadly.

agree 100% Bastard of a woman, she was.

[Tuerto]

Re: The Miners Strike

Splott P is correct about the construction industry being flooded with labour in South Wales, which was a massive contributor towards prices stripped to the minimum and a take it or leave it attitude from shit house contractors. was getting £1 per square metre in 1992 render or skim. To earn anything decent I'd have to lay 100 mts a day. And pay a labourer out of that.

[Des Parrot]

Re: The Miners Strike

One by product of the demise of the pits was the flooding of the labour market, particularly construction. Certainly not knocking the ex miners but the redundancy pay/severance pay, whatever it was called, subsided retraining enabled them to square up their debts and make a fresh start. The ‘go to’ industry was construction. Cardiff and I’d imagine places like Sheffield, Newcastle, Barnsley etc were hit by the working man’s worst nightmare ‘Glut of labour/lack of work’. We still had our ‘city’ mortgages & bills to pay and, unfortunately, peace work was the norm on sites, the ‘new tradesmen’, fresh from their crash courses were undercutting us left, right & centre due to their relatively lower outgoings. Our little Saturday fiddles went west as well, especially for valley based brickies, chippies, for years the miners had the cash to have these minor house improvements done (it made the world go around), now they were doing them themselves.

I stress that I’m not knocking the lads at all, they had to do what they had to do but I lived through it and the situation in my trade was dire, we’d done four year apprenticeships and the six month diluties (as we called them) were killing us. Where we’d once had the whip hand it now became a dog eat dog world, negotiating money had gone out of the window, it was take it or leave it.

All part of that woman’s master plan in my opinion, keep the workers in fear for their jobs. Legitimate unrest in the workplace completely quelled, 15% interest rates for those of us with mortgages meaning a fair wedge to be shelled out monthly. People with a council house having the safety net of rent subsidies should work dry up being encouraged to buy said council house to put that monthly noose around their necks.

We had the added blow of East Moors closing in Cardiff as well which flooded the labour market a few years previously as well. The knock on effect of the crushing of the pit men & steelworkers reached far & wide not just in their communities.

Ironic though how the greedy and ruthless attitudes of those in power of those days has come back and bitten society on the arse. Apprenticeship & training schemes were obliterated, the short sighted reason being that it wasn’t cost effective having youngsters making mistakes, working at a slower pace, having time off site to attend college etc. The result being now that decent tradesmen are at a premium and demanding the type of remuneration that must sicken any of those advocates of Thatcherism who are still around who wanted the likes of me kept firmly in my place in the pecking order.

So, the miners strike did define the intervening years, no long term investment in pit communities to provide sustainable long term employment to replace the coal face. Quangos like the WDA milking money off their government mates , building phoney units on ‘made up’ trading estates, then disappearing when the grants dried up and these units employing low paid staff changing hands and types of business many times over the years.

Bit of a long rant for a Saturday morning, sorry for that. F*ck Thatcher & Up The City.

Good post. One thing I’d add is that I worked in manufacturing in the valleys at the time & the workforce was predominantly women. I interviewed many ex-miners & many had the attitude that they had a god given right to work and that we should replace our female employees with them.

[Toggs]

Re: The Miners Strike

My Dad was a NCB civil engineer, he was made redundant in 1981 when the project he was working on was scrapped. He was in a team planning the ‘Margam Super Pit’, the plan was to close a number of local pits and work their coal reserves from one modern mine which would also extract the large seam from under Margam Mountain. This would have been a state of the art and highly profitable mine, providing secure, well paid jobs at the heart of the South Wales coalfield, Thatcher couldn’t face that possibility and put a stop to it. Anyone who says the pits were closed for economic reasons needs to do some research they were shut out of hatred towards the unions and communities the Tories knew would never support them.

[Tuerto]

Re: The Miners Strike

Good post. One thing I’d add is that I worked in manufacturing in the valleys at the time & the workforce was predominantly women. I interviewed many ex-miners & many had the attitude that they had a god given right to work and that we should replace our female employees with them.

Do you think that was more of a cultural thing though. Sexism was a given back then in many communities and plenty of men had been conditioned into thinking that the most important role that they possess was to provide financially for their families.

[Tuerto]

Re: The Miners Strike

My Dad was a NCB civil engineer, he was made redundant in 1981 when the project he was working on was scrapped. He was in a team planning the ‘Margam Super Pit’, the plan was to close a number of local pits and work their coal reserves from one modern mine which would also extract the large seam from under Margam Mountain. This would have been a state of the art and highly profitable mine, providing secure, well paid jobs at the heart of the South Wales coalfield, Thatcher couldn’t face that possibility and put a stop to it. Anyone who says the pits were closed for economic reasons needs to do some research they were shut out of hatred towards the unions and communities the Tories knew would never support them.

Yup, an attack on workers having some power and a say in the decision making and what best served their communities. Almost a dirty concept these days as it seems that working people have been conditioned into worrying about millionaires, billionaires and where they'll put their money. Economic viability and an attitude that we as workers must bear a large proportion of responsibility when the super rich **** up. Sanitised through and through. Just be grateful for a job yeah?

[Shrewsbury Blue]

Re: The Miners Strike

Why is this thread not on the politics section there is no football content?

[theclaw]

Re: The Miners Strike

I was a Sunshine miner (opencast) at the time.

[JamesWales]

Re: The Miners Strike

Very interesting reading some of these. I was a toddler at the time but obviously I know the basic history. Very interesting to read personal stories.

For what it's worth, from a Cardiff perspective, I think people feel more positive about the valleys in recent years. It's natural beauty (quite staggering in parts, definitely more dramatic than some national parks) is really shining through and it retains an enviable sense of community and a culture as unique as many in the UK.

Through a very difficult past the valleys have a positivr future I hope.

[Tuerto]

Re: The Miners Strike

Why is this thread not on the politics section there is no football content?

Cardiff 2 Sheffield United 0.

I think that's enough to keep this thread.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Re: The Miners Strike

I'll echo some of those sentiments Bob.

I grew up in Aberfan, Merthyr Vale colliery in sight of my parents house and heated the pit hooter daily. Played football for a local boys club that was just outside the grounds of Deep Navigation.

The miners also contributed to a number of local services which were benefits of the community. In Deep Nav's case most miners contributed a few pence to the Boys club. Miners Gala's, local events and services all receiving money from the miners also.

In relation to the 'strike', I was 12 or 13 when it started. It had a big impact on me as I saw mates rummaging for coal on tips, soup kitchens, food parcels for families within the close community.

Throw in the death of David Wilkie and a number of suicides, probably brought about by the strike, the whole human wasn't lost on me at all.

Families fractured, communities shattered and then left to get on with it.

Do you know Carlton ?

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Re: The Miners Strike

Why is this thread not on the politics section there is no football content?

Thatcher has risen from the grave

[The Bloop]

Re: The Miners Strike

Why is this thread not on the politics section there is no football content?

Because it had (and still has) a massive effect on a big part of the club's fan base.
With my little pick and shovel....