Mrs Thatcher vs The Miners

I work in construction and remember a lot of miners moving into that, I always thought they'd got decent payoffs but could be wrong.
I got 7k redundancy in 2013 for 17yrs service in construction which certainly wasn't enhanced

 

Weren’t much more than that but there’s a big difference in being made redundant in mining to construction .
Construction work is ongoing and transferable where as mining was a dead industry with no transfer currency.

 

I agree but you generally get made redundant in construction when work is very scarce and the economy has gone tits up.
I was more making the point that the miners I came across got decent payoffs, far better than most manual workers, probably much better pensions too.

 

We had a caravan next to the old Fitties site - never saw them but was shocked at what I saw that day

 

If pensions were better it’s because we paid more into them we weren’t given them but mine weren’t all that tbh.
We got reduncy because the industry was closing its not as if we could start back up any time soon when things picked up .
I know miners that got one very good jobs and some who got work straight away but I also know miners that never worked again and were broken men .
Just because some dropped on it wasn’t typical all round if that’s what your driving at .

 

Wasn't it a thousand for every year worked at pit - sure my dad got about 17k. He was lucky and got a job a week after he left - not been out of work since and still going strong at 73 as a driver at Naylors

 

Depended when it was tbh British Coal did what they wanted .
I heard down Notts the redundancy was eye watering and I can believe that.
Ours were among the last to close so they’d got rid of the bulk of them so the bribes went down in value so I certainly didn’t get that and you couldn’t go onto benefits which took a big chunk if you didn’t get straight into work .

 

Dad was at Woolley as I said he was lucky to get a job within a week.

 

That closed a good few year before ours (Houghton Main)
We were thinking we were among the lucky ones that we were avoiding pit closures untill it happened to us and then we realised all the jobs available were taken by miners who’s pits closed earlier .
We couldn’t even get firms to take us on for no wage to get experience so we could take up the training that was supposed to be offered .

 

My dad was a driver on the machines so his skills were transferable to other building type / driving jobs. He's been at Naylors for 25 years - still going strong at 73

 

Many of us were drivers of the machines tbh, I had papers for most of the machines used underground ,
One lad I worked with could make the machines sing but couldn’t get a job for love nor money , was a smashing bloke as well got on with anyone and I was so surprised that he never got another job other than training places with dole . Died an early death about eight year after pit closure .

 

I have not watched this programme as I knew what to expect. Scargill wasn’t clueless, he was an intelligent chap and no-one could’ve envisaged what lengths Thatcher and her ilk would go to defeat the Miners. Having said that, if the Scabs hadn’t sold out the Witch simply would’ve crumbled. Whatever anybody thought of Scargill they cannot deny he was right all along when he said this Govt had an extensive pit closure programme to which the govt constantly denied. He also regularly pointed out that we produced the cheapest deep mined coal in Europe. He also reminded govt that he wasn’t wanting subsidies for British coal but wanted the subsidies for the ‘dash for gas’ ending so that coal could compete on a level playing field with gas. The miners didn’t pick this fight that was down to Thatcher.

 

Well chuffin said.

 

Whenever you’re tempted to trust a Tory, remember Thatcher. When you’re tempted to trust the BBC, remember Orgreave. When you’re tempted to vote for any politician who talks up capitalism, give your head a wobble.

 

It’s a scary thought , tories could get in at Barnsley and local areas . What a vile woman she was , leading a vile party . Destroyed the area and community and we still haven’t recovered.

 

I couldn’t watch that. Lots of shots of Thatcher posing and strutting. Now we’ve got the blue wall. Makes you wonder.

 

It was a terrible time for the miners I certainly don't dispute that. My point was more about the unions and how they appeared to get the best deals possible.
My experience with Ucatt made me never want to pay another penny to a union.

 

Not sure about that tbh . A union is only as strong as its members want it to be .
Unions may have been in a weak position it’s not a case a union can get whatever it wants that’s never been the case choose what .
You’re better in a union than out I mean what would you expect to come from uncaring employers in you’re own . You’d probably be on different rates for exact same job because their face fits better than yours .
Id say careful what you wish for regards ditching a union and it works two ways when your union wants backing you have to back it .
Unions have very little sway these days but do their best in the circumstances .
Most of workers rights came from the EU so expect a bonfire of your working rights in next few years the vultures are circling make no mistake , if you think you have few rights now wait till the Tories start throwing the EU rights away .
People are scoffing at this saying it’s tosh but Mark my words Tories never change their spots.
Workers rights will be almost non existent and it’ll be done in stealth with worker against worker I’ll stake my life on it .

 

It'll be like America, lucky to have 2 weeks paid holiday, cutting maternity /paternity leave, rubbish pensions etc etc.

 

That’s exactly what it’ll be like and probably worse .
The semi and unskilled worker will be ten a Penny for employees .
The Tories wanted out of EU fir one reason only to get rid of workers rights .
They sold the threat of immigrants on to the working class as an age old rues to get out of EU.
The Tories were never bothered about immigration that was just the nationalists element , immigrants to Tories means lower wages and worker competing against worker which is what they wanted .
No the Tories wanted out for workers rights and are lobbying Parliament as we speak and once things calm down with NI and COVID we can get ready .