Miners Strike..........

the industry was privatised,sold off for a fraction of what it was worth.,around 35 pits went into privatisation in some shape or form,all these barring 3 are now shut.Private firms that took the industry over got pits that had been developed so the coal was easy pickings,unfortunately in mining you have to reinvest heavily with future developments,private enterprise hasnt done this.
Carbon taxes have also shafted the industry making it unattractive to mine coal in this country,so what they do is import it instead from countries that have no such strangling legislation.

 

We wouldn't have needed NACODs if the nott's miners had come out.
The biggest topic from workers In other industries was that if we had come out united the other industries would have followed like sheep.
Almos every worker in the country had had enough of thatcher and the Tories but felt whilst ever we weren't united they couldn't support us.

 

that was exactly the problem marlon.i knew tuc members that told me if you cant get your own membership out then you havnt got a cat in hells chance of getting support from elswhere

 

OK cheers, what gets me is Mrs Thatcher and whoever was advising her must have known that for thousands of people these were the only jobs they can do and the only jobs in the respective areas, why would she sentence so many hard-working people to a life of destitution that would cost the government money anyway?

 

unemployment was a small price to pay if the unions were rendered useless,in her eyes anyway.

 

the destruction of all our major industry got rid of the unions,it also got rid of well paid jobs for the working class,had the pits and steelworks been still open then these young uns that now work in supermarkets,distribution centres etc would have been on double the money they are on now.

 

Cos she was an evil basterd TORY witch.

 

The notts and Leicester coalfields were never gonna support us,they were bought lock stock and barrel.
Can remember talking to striking notts miners on the picket line at Annesley colliery and they told us the pay out at that pit with the corrupt incentive scheme was phenomenal for the little coal that was coming out.it was solely to keep the men working.
They didn't actually need the coal from notts as the power stations were stacked for months.it was solely to demoralise the strikers and prevent support from other industries.

 

dont be too sure about that marlon,coal was running low as early as june/july,thats why thatcher employed scab labour in the haulage industry to shift coal from the docks..i saw a paper last week on a mining site that showed her calculations for the amount of imported coal that was coming in on ferries.

 

Yeah also heard that dek,there were quite a few conflicting reports doing the rounds at the time.
Looking forward to someone getting hold of all the facts including the secret ones at Westminster and writing a honest account and f just what really happened but I won't hold my breath.

 

bloke who has the caravan at the back of my dads at flamboro told me that the coal stacks at ferrybridge were hollow in the middle and that a no fly zone was in place so that they could not be filmed,the bloke who told us was a mechanical shift charge engineer of some sort at ferrybridge,he was well up the ladder anyhow.

 

Cheers everyone!! Not many book recommendations though!!! Ha!

Will give the ones mentioned a go though.

Tar muchly!!

 

Well before I wondered off into a rant on my post I did mention a trip to the library. There's so many books out on the subject that I gave up years ago trying to sift through tbem .I just go on my memories now.
The library employees will help you navigate through the numerous books and will categorise them into which particular angle you want to consume them in, ie , working miners stories.striking miners stories,picket line police stories,govt,union striking ,union non striking.non miners involvment .women against pit closures etc etc etc there's hundreds mate tbh but good luck.
Top Tip

You don't have to take them from the library just recognise the sort you want and reference them then purchase .

 

Just read a decent little book which gives an update on the current situation, in the light of the 30 year release of government documents, the portrayal of the strike in the media and the launch of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign. It's called 'Settling Scores: the Media, the Police and the Miners' Strike' edited by Granville Williams. Approx. 140 pages, £6.99. Well worth reading...

 

Rumour has it that the ballot was for strike action...

Papers due out imminently no doubts