The Miners Strike + Other Industrial Disputes Flashcards
What unions did thatchers economic policies around hostility from?
-public sector workers like COHSE + NUPE who became more militant along with teachers unions
-lengthy dispute over working conditions
What new laws constrained the role of the unions?
-1980 secondary picketing outlawed
-1984 unions put under pressure hold ballots before strike action called
What was the role of Rupert Murdoch?
-newspaper proprietor led by Australian press baron Murdoch tried reduced power of print unions
-major confrontational at Murdoch’s Wapping plant Jan 1986
What was the outcome?
-print unions failed prevent publication or distribution of any newspaper s
-the strike collapsed after 13 months
What was the worst struggle in terms of strikes?
-the miners strike 1984-85
-thatcher compared Falklands conflict with striking miners as ‘the enemy within’
What happened in 1981 regarding the miners which began the tensions?
-1981 National Coal Board warned need close 23 pits
How did the gov react to this?
-gov not felt ready for return events of 1973-74 + compromised reducing amount of coal imported protecting the subsidy to NCB
-thus preventing the closures
How did the gov in 1984 seem prepared + confident?
-huge stocks of coal built up at power stations
-flow of North Sea oil made it less likely an energy crisis as in 1973
What did the NCB announce in 1984?
-McGreggor chairman of NCB announced need to close 20 pits
-but Scargill the pres of NUM claimed seen secret plan to close 70 pits but McGreggor denied this
What did Scargill do regarding this?
-was a charismatic leader but failed gain total support for national strike
-refusal hold strike ballot weakened his case + failed overcome historical regional divisions among miners
What was the Union of Democratic miners?
-Nottinghamshire miners formed breakaway union - Union of Dem miners
What did this new union lead to?
-bitter recriminations
-scargilites accused UDM being ‘scabs’ + ‘traitors’
-UDM accused Scargill caring more about hard-left politics than interests of miners was leading
What was one key factor during the miners strike?
-the role of the police
What was this new role played by police?
-they had better equipment
-more experience of riot control
-better tactics
What did critics say about this new role of the police?
-thatchers critics blamed her for politicisation of police
-claimed police used to defeat miners + not be impartial protectors of law + order
What was the most famous battle between the miners and the police?
-the battle of Orgreave
When was the battle of oregreave?
-June 1984 mass picket of coke plant at oregreave South Yorkshire by 5000 miners
How did the police react?
-faced by up to 8000 police
-series of violent confrontations
What happened during the battle?
-50+ picketers incl. Scargill + 70+ police injured
-resulted in a long-lasting controversy over accusations of police brutality
What was the outcome for the police?
-1991 South Yorkshire police forced to pay compensations
What was the outcome for the miners?
-immediate outcome was defeat for the NUM as lorries kept rolling in + out of oregreave
What was a factor in the defeat of the NUM?
-Scargill himself
How did Scargill aid in the NUM’s defeat?
-alienated moderates - never got support of lab leadership
-Thatcher + allies in press demonised Scargill as a dangerous rev challenging dem elected gov
What did Kinnock comment about Scargill?
-‘the miners didn’t deserve him’
-‘they deserved much, much better’
What were the last months of the strike like?
-last months of strike were demoralising
-steady drift back to work while hard core strikers determined stick out to end
What was the outcome of Scargill campaign?
-Scargill campaign prevent pit closures utter failure
-1979 coal ind employed 200k by 1990 down to 60k + falling
What happened to the power of the unions?
-dramatically decreased
-1990 total union membership 2/3 of what it was 1979
-other state inds like Br Steel + Br airways reorganised with massive job losses
How did Thatcherites view the defeat of the strike?
-a defining moment of Thatcherism
-Tebbit 1988 wrote ‘had thatcher gov been broken + craven Kinnock been installed in office by Scargill’s thugs Br have been a grim place’
What was coal like under heath 1970-74?
-gov v TUs - increased power to unions repeated pay demands
-impact - strikes ‘72 + ‘74, stoppages to public services, inflation
-country wide power cuts, three day week, blackouts
What was coal like under thatcher 1979-84?
-1979 cons manifesto pledges bring TUs under gov legislation
-Tebbit - anti-strike legislation + police to break up picketing
-commitment monetarism + cuts public spending
-no subsidies to failing business ‘lame ducks’ + no gov bailouts
