Political Developments: 1974 Miners Strike Flashcards
What war started in 1973?
Arab-Israeli War
What did the war mean would happen to oil prices?
They went up heavily
What was an additional charge that Arabs added to their oil? How would you get this extra charge?
25% extra for oil if a country supported Israel
How did the coal miners take advantage of the oil crisis?
They felt they could increase the price of coal
Why was oil becoming increasingly important for Britain in the 1970’s?
Rise in plastic products
Who represented the coal miners in 1973? What did he want?
Joe Gormley, wanted miners to experience the affluence of the 1950’s
What pay rise did the coal miners want?
35%
What was the first move towards striking for the miners? When did they do this (to the day)?
Overtime ban, starting on 12th November 1973
What was clever about when the miners did the overtime ban?
It was becoming winter when people needed energy the most
What was the impact of the overtime ban?
Coal production went down by over 50%
How did Heath respond to the overtime ban?
Electricity reduced to only being available 3 days a week
When did TV’s shut off in the 3 day weeks?
TV’s turned off at 10:30 PM Petrol usage reduced to 50 miles a week
What happened with petrol during the 3 day weeks?
It was reduced to 50 miles a week
What was the impact of the electricity cuts on industries?
Lots of workers had to be laid off
How much did productivity go down during 3 day weeks?
Productive work down by 40% Output down by 5%
How much did output also go down?
Output went down by 5%
What was significant about the small reduction in output from industries?
Showed they were not working very efficiently to begin with
What did Heath ask the public in the 1974 election? How did the public respond?
Asked who ran the country - the unions or the government The public said the unions
When did the miners properly strike? How much support was there for this in the ballots?
Striked in February 1974 with 80% support to do so in strike ballots
What pay rise did the NUM reject from Heath?
16.5%
What did Scargill do with miners in this strike?
Once again did flying pickets
How did the strike come to an end? What pay rise did the miners get in 1974?
Labour said they would sort out the wages.
What pay rise did the miners get at the end of their strike?
35%
What pay rise did the miners get in 1975?
An additional 35%
How many strikes occurred from 1971-4?
Over 10,000 strikes Nearly 50 million days lost
How many days were lost from strikes in 1971-74?
50 million days lost
