July 06, 2022 2:57 PM This year's Durham Miners Gala is set to be the biggest of modern times, with more banners and brass bands taking part than at any time since before the Miners' Strike. The company wanted to impose a pay cut of 10%. Photograph: Bob Anderson/Rex Features . on December 7, 2014 Durham-miners.pdf (266.68 KB) strikes mining This money, which had been contributed by Durham miners over decades, was then confiscated and paid into the national funds of the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO).By 2002, the compensation scheme for VWF and CB&E started to bear fruit and the finances of the Union improved. Guests were told to "expect a confrontation bigger than the Battle of Orgreave". Durham University said the event was "wholly unacceptable". 'In 1985, he was elected to the position of President of the National Union of Mineworkers (Durham Area). The Union acted on legal advice that this money could be used to operate a service to the membership and the Durham Areas' share of this fund provided a vital stopgap to see the Union through the immediate problems of the closure programme. The seeds of the strike of 1844 by the coalminers of Northumberland and Durham were sown well before that year. At the time of the miners strike there were 18 working pits in the Durham-Northumberland . David was an electrician at Sacriston during the strike, and he and his wife Dorothy ran a soup kitchen in Leadgate. Even some local businesses came forward with a contribution.By the time of the Gala, sufficient money had been raised, a huge proportion of which was paid to the brass bands which were an essential feature of the Gala.Just as the return contributions were beginning to alleviate the financial crisis, the Durham NUM suffered a setback. She was a founder member of Peace Action Durham, a lifelong member of Ban the Bomb, campaigned against South Africa's apartheid and joined solidarity groups for the people of Vietnam, Nicaragua. The fabric of the Union was preserved, the Gala continued and the Union was able to embark on a further expensive legal campaign for miners who were suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee. The miners -- who, naturally, were already living on next to nothing -- went on strike. This led to power cuts, the introduction of a . Where the DTI disputed a miner's right to compensation the local knowledge of the Union in finding witnesses was vital. [2] Although the union affiliated to the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) in 1892, it was expelled the following year after refusing to join the national strike. The investment from these contributions was the only guaranteed long-term income which would allow the Union to fight future cases, to take up the cases of men whose entitlement to compensation had been disputed and to finance community activity, of which the Gala was a vital part.Following the success of the VWF campaign, that for CB&E met with equal success. The revolutionary sympathy of miners' leaders in Chopwell earned it the nickname "Little Moscow" from the hostile Tory press. The film shows striking miners picketing at the colliery and negotiating with the police. In short there was no money to fund the Gala. The whole tone of the strike changed when some miners returned to work to one of vitriolic hatred directed at those perceived to be breaking the strike. Miners left their pits to fight the attempt of the Thatcher government to close the collieries, break the miners' union and the labour movement in general, and open the way to a free market economy in which deregulated financial capitalism would be set free by the Big Bang of 1986. He also enjoyed music, sport, travel and current affairs, including the current form on the turf! At the discussion event, Prof Gildea was in conversation with David Wray, whose family were part of the scheduled interviews. The 1984-85 Miners' Strike in the Durham Coalfield - Easington Colliery 1984 It was not a gesture which Springsteen loudly bragged about. It had been cancelled by the students concerned, he said. The pit ceased production the previous November. Camera footage of the traditional annual parade of Union banners and brass bands at Durham Miners Rally on 14 July 1984, during the tumultuous year of the national miners' strike of 1984-1985, shot by Newcastle-based production unit, Trade Films. The union saw rapid success, with the abolition of the unpopular Yearly Bond in 1872, while a short strike in 1874 began a process of agreeing wages across the county. Life was hard for miners and their families, but . On Thursday August 2 2012 over 500 attended a service at St Magdalen Church, Seaham Harbour in celebration of the life of this outstanding miners' leader. No help was forthcoming from the national union to underwrite the legal action or to pay the wages of the officials and the office staff.At this point the Executive Committee could have walked away but instead they took a huge gamble and put the Red Hill headquarters and all other property on the line as collateral in order to proceed with the court action. [2], While the union represented the large majority of miners in County Durham, some in specialist roles were represented by the Durham County Colliery Enginemen's Association, the Durham Colliery Mechanics' Association, and the Durham Cokemen's Association. News quiz: What was Erling Haaland blamed for this week? In 1999 this generous grant came to an end, before the VWF scheme had produced any return contributions. Unable to pay the rates on the Miners Hall at Red Hill the Union moved into one of the former agents' houses and the General Secretary and President took a 50 per cent reduction in wages. . There were also unofficial strikes in the normally conservative Durham coalfield in early 1910, and spontaneous strikes in the north-east shipyards. This is more bands and banners than at any Gala since before 1984-85 strike. His father Alfred was a miner at Vane Tempest colliery and David's early life was typical of those who grew up in a community dominated by the coal industry.' Miners spread the strikes through mass picketing. Villages organised fund-raising events. History of Durham Miners 1993 - 2015 When the last pit on the Durham coalfield closed the Union faced huge problems. The one-man show is based on true stories and events from the 1984-85 strike. The policeman who tried to stem Seoul Halloween crush, Aboriginal boy's killing puts spotlight on racism, Billions being spent in metaverse land grab. These claims were initiated by the Durham Miners Association with the support of a number of other funding bodies and were first launched in 2008.In the Summer of 2010 eight test cases were heard in the High Court at Leeds, including three from Durham. Most read in News. The organisers have been approached for comment. Huge crowds are expected when the Gala returns this Saturday (July 9) after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid 19 pandemic. 26 Apr 1879 The Spectator Archive THE concurrence of a Strike, great almost beyond pre- cedent, with a period of extraordinary trade depression is so disastrous a. For Durham mineworkers, the Russian revolution - which for the first time in history brought to power a government that claimed to rule on behalf of working people - was a great inspiration. All the reserves had been depleted in the year-long strike of 1984/85 and the total liquid assets of the Union amounted to 44,000. In the aftermath of the Great Miners' Strike, it was a difficult time to take office but he was immensely proud to be elected and considered it a real privilege to represent the mining communities and working-class people in general. Here, historian Dominic Sandbrook revisits the longest and most acrimonious industrial dispute in Britain's modern history: the miners' strike of 1984-85 By The strike saw arrests and clashes between miners and police in villages . Following a conversation with the family the floor with be open to members of the audience who would like to share their own memories of the strike and its legacy. Although the Miners Strike took place nearly forty years ago, the families and communities that experienced it in County Durham still have vivid memories of that year and have had to wrestle in their lives with the destruction of an industry. While Durham may be almost 280 miles away from Bristol - the 150 th anniversary of the Miners' Gala yesterday has given me cause to think about the legacy of our city and region's mining history, and the ongoing importance of the trade union movement in Bristol today. The biggest disappointment is that the Labour Government when in power did not accept the merits of the case and introduce a scheme to settle these claims which would have saved millions of pounds on legal fees. ; BOTH SIDES OBSTINATE AND NO SETTLEMENT IN SIGHT. THE DURHAM MINERS' STRIKE. In the second phase the focus shifted to the transport sector. The organisers said to expect "a confrontation bigger than the Battle of Orgreave", The Facebook invitation was headlined Backs v Forwards, Trevelyan College authorities said they deplored the proposed event. However, the DMA decided to put the loyalty of its members to the test and wrote to all miners and dependents who had benefited from the VWF and CB&E explaining that their contributions would be returned if they wished. First hosted in 1871, the Gala is the world's greatest celebration of community, s. It was led by Arthur Scargill of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) against the National Coal Board (NCB), a government agency. Public Talks, training, seminars & conferences Photo credit: Kath Connolly Although the Miners' Strike took place nearly forty years ago, the families and communities that experienced it in County Durham still have vivid memories of that year and have had to wrestle in their lives with the destruction of an industry. Over the years Thompsons have fought many test cases which have resulted in many hundreds of thousands of workers obtaining compensation for their injuries. The Durham Miners' Association was created to represent members at medical tribunals, to give advice on all aspects of pensions and benefits and to pursue further litigation for former miners suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The miners' strike of 1984-1985 was a major industrial action which saw the British coal industry shut down. He was a caring and compassionate man, his values undoubtedly influenced by his upbringing and his experience of day-to-day life at the coal face. Today no deep-coal mines exist in the county and numbers attending the Miners' Gala decreased over the period between the end of the strike and the 21st century. Commemorating the miners fallen during the pacification of the strike against the martial law in December 1981. They are all gone now. A miners' strike-themed student rugby club event has been criticised as "disgraceful" and swiftly cancelled. The Union then engaged Thompsons to pursue a case of negligence against the firm which was responsible. Only a handful of Durham miners working in other coalfields were paying subscriptions. The Big Meeting - also known as the Durham Miner's Gala - is a unique event. In order to continue the work of the Union in the villages the Affiliated Membership Scheme was initiated with an annual subscription of 20 a year. The catalyst for the strike was the announcement by the . Those closest to him experienced his unconditional love, generosity, patience and support. He also refused to allow an appeal of his ruling. Over the past two years, Prof Gildea has conducted 125 interviews with people and their families on their experience of the Miners Strike. A short interview with a local retired policeman, and his experiences of the Miners' Strike, in County Durham.Part of a bigger project I've been working on. Read about our approach to external linking. century a new coalfield was discovered at Selby in Yorkshire but at the time of writing (July 2002) it has just been announced that even this will close shortly. In 1993 a highly successful New Zealand businessman called Michael Watt, who had at one time worked in Durham with former Durham miners, made a grant to the Union which covered the cost of the Gala in the immediate period after the closure of the collieries. However the working of the scheme, particularly in the CB&E cases, was painfully slow and the Union had to campaign hard to improve the progress of these cases. Compensation payments to former miners, some as high as 60,000, were changing the lives of many former mineworkers. The strike involved about 300,000 coal miners in the Federated District, making it larger than any previous strike in the UK. The Great North Coalfield employed almost 250,000 men, producing over 56 million tons of coal annually from around 400 pits. We were helping each other. Jackie Keating, Counting the cost: a family in the miners' strike (1991) - Shelfmark: S45 Submitted by Steven. 'David leaves behind a dear wife Christine and two children Stephen and Maria from his first marriage to Joan and much loved grandchildren.' Since the miners whose cases the Union was championing were so debilitated by their condition that they relied on state benefit, legal aid was granted.After a protracted struggle the VWF claim was finally won in the High Court in 1997 when seven miners were awarded a total of 120,000 for their injuries. Anyone can read what you share. The strike was called following a proposed reduction in miners' wages. Speaking at the Gala in 2008 the then Chief Executive of Thompson, Geoff Shears, paid tribute to the work of the DMA compensation department when he said: Vibration white finger, chronic bronchitis and emphysema cases arose at that time when the Union was on its knees and there was a massive financial risk in fighting test cases and the government refused to meet its responsibilities to negotiate a compensation scheme. The DMA backed test cases and risked everything it had so that its solicitors could prove British Coal was to blame for the miners' injuries and diseases over decades. The year-long strike involved hardship and violence as pit communities from South Wales to Scotland fought to retain their local collieries - for many the only source of employment. Women and the miners strike of 1984. 20 July 2022 Media release Outreach & community engagement Partnerships & Collaboration Durham University recently hosted an open discussion on an important part of the North East's history: the Miners' Strike. In addition, by 1900, membership had risen to 80,000. The Union's commitments, however, were enormous. At a stroke it had been cut off from its only source of finance - working members. His most recent book is Empires of the Mind: The Colonial Past and the Politics of the Present (2019), and he has published many books on modern European and transnational history, especially on the Second World War and Europes 1968. Send any friend a story. A longer strike in 1879 was unsuccessful in preventing cuts to wages, but action in 1890 ensured that the district was the first in the county to adopt a standard seven-hour day. County Durham has a rich mining history with, at its height, tens of thousands of miners working in pits across the area. Thompsons successfully pursued the professional negligence case against Russell Young solicitors. The strike was against the management who wanted to change the status of deputies to that of officials. Unfortunately some miners took up their offers and as a result achieved much lower awards than were achieved by Thompsons. In December 1870, William Crawford became the union's President, and was able to rebuild its membership, the DMA soon becoming the largest miners' union in the UK. In doing so the DMA was releasing them from a signed undertaking which they had made.It was another gamble but this time the Executive was not gambling on the caprice of a legal system but the loyalty of its members. Through Thompsons the DMA won the highest overall compensation, outstripping by thousands of pounds, those cases handled by other solicitors. The 1984-85 Miners' Strike in the Durham Coalfield - Easington Colliery 1984 9 of 24. Thompsons is a long-established firm of trade union solicitors which was established in 1921 by the socialist lawyer William Henry Thompson. All these cases fell outside the provisions of the scheme and the costs had to be borne out of the money provided by the members who had returned part of their awards.As Dave Guy explained: "This in my opinion was in the best tradition of the Durham miners. This was a charity which consisted of funds collected from the members of the federated mining unions on the Durham coalfield The Durham Miners, the Mechanics, the Officials, the Enginemen and the Deputies. But it was also a festival of music and banners. United Council Meeting, December 15th, tendered three months' notice to terminate District Wage Agreement these notices to terminate March, 1935. . The four unions worked together in the Durham County Mining Federation Board, the secretary of which was invariably the secretary of the DMA. Sustaining and presiding over the Durham Miners' Gala was his passion and a further example of his excellent leadership. on July 06, 2022 This year's Durham Miners Gala is set to be the biggest of modern times, with more banners and brass bands taking part than at any time since before the Miners' Strike. President Dave Guy made several appeals in his message to the Gala calling on the Labour Government to speed up the procedure so that these old miners could enjoy their rightful compensation before they died. For more information about this format, please see the Archive Torrents collection. But he later discovered his payout should have been more than 5,000. . The end of the dispute saw the power of trade unions significantly diminished. In the preface to this special edition, Anne Suddick discusses the issues that came out of the women's forum at last year's Miners' Strike Twenty Years On: Challenges and Changes conference, which was attended by women activists from the Durham area, and by national officials from Women Against Pit Closures. At a stroke it had been cut off from its only source of finance working members. However, it was a role which took David and his family away from the community he loved to Durham City where he never really settled. This provided the resources to represent members at tribunals and fight cases where state benefit had been refused to disabled and unemployed members. His work has been awarded the Wolfson Prize for History. All former members of the Associate Membership Scheme who had not withdrawn their return contributions were eligible to join the Durham Miners' Association as 'beneficial members'. [2], In these early days, the DMA was part of the Miners' National Union, and supported Lib-Lab candidates; both Crawford and John Wilson serving local constituencies. It was not insurance companies, not claims' farmers, not legal aid funds who were prepared to fight but it was the DMA and other areas of the National Union of Mineworkers. However, the DMA believes that it was right to fight the case on behalf of its members who after all had agreed to a seven-and-a-half per cent levy (up to a limit of 1,000) from previously successful claims won by the DMA's solicitors, Thompsons, in former coal compensation cases. They said the organisers had a "complete lack of respect for local history" and "ought to be ashamed". These 'return contributions' were capped so no miner paid more than 1,000. 'Despite David's high public profile he was a very private and modest person and would almost certainly be surprised by the amount of attention his passing has generated. Attendees were given the chance to listen to Wolfson Prize winner historian Professor Robert Gildea, who interviewed families on their experience of the Miners Strike for a new book based on historical research. The Palatine CentreDurham UniversityStockton RoadDurhamDH1 3LE, Durham historian contributes to webinar on Ukrainian national identity, Recent Durham graduate features in History Hack podcast, Durham University and partners create first international network for Nineteenth-Century Studies, MP visit highlights the wider role the University can play, Show submenu for Wider Student Experience, Student Complaints and Non-Academic Misconduct. As a result the Government's own figures prove that Durham Miners and Mechanics have the highest success rate and the highest level of compensation in the country a success that has helped all workers. Women Support Group badges Boldon Community Association centre 10 of 24. The Durham NUM and its solicitors, Thompsons now embarked on negotiations with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to set up a scheme which would automatically compensate all miners in the country who were suffering from this condition without their having to resort to further legal action. Read more He was a convinced socialist and an active member of the Labour Party. They will be joined by Sams daughter, Caitlin, now a student at Newcastle University, who speaks for a third generation that has been shaped by the strike. Strikes broke out on the 15 April 1921 across the country. R Forbes, and D Smithson, Feelings alive '84/85: poems of the miners' strike in Durham (1986) - Shelfmark: AG Miners Strike Box 1. Opposition to the strike was led by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who wanted to reduce . BEHIND THE NEWS This strike had been organised by a union formed in 1830 by Thomas Hepburn. The pair are now part of Education 4 Action, which teaches school pupils about their northern heritage. Jeremy Bowen on reporting from Ukraine's frontline. Durham students miners' strike-themed event 'disgraceful' 26 November 2017 PA The organisers said to expect "a confrontation bigger than the Battle of Orgreave" A miners' strike-themed. The rally went ahead that year although the Gala was cancelled. The union was founded in 1869 and its membership quickly rose to 4,000, but within a year had fallen back to 2,000. As she saw it, the defeat of the miners' strike of 1984-85 cut the brake on the application of largely unrestrained market forces, not only in energy but in the . When the last pit on the Durham coalfield closed the Union faced huge problems. The following is a brief history of the 14 years prior to the strike commencing. Several Durham miners have been able to turn their former mining careers into careers in art. When the miners' strike began in March 1984, she decided to try to make sure no family in Durham's former scattered mining communities was left without support. Organisers of the event, who appeared to be associated with the rugby team at Trevelyan College, asked those playing different positions in the game to take the opposing sides in the 1984 dispute. Alongside the Durham Miners, the Durham Mechanics and the South Wales Deputies were funding the action but the majority of test cases, and therefore the highest potential cost if the cases failed, would fall to the Durham Area and this could be counted in millions of pounds.In legal cases of this kind the appellants have to prove that they have the resources to pay the costs if the cases fail. The ringleaders were arrested and their families evicted by bailiffs guarded by troops. The union finally joined the MFGB in 1908, following the passage of the Eight Hours Bill. Late in the 20th. Read about our approach to external linking. Twitter users called the event "disgraceful" and "disgusting". From an early age, he developed a strong sense of duty to his community and took an active part in the business of the Dawdon NUM miners' lodge, where for many years he served as the lodge treasurer. A longer strike in 1879 was unsuccessful in preventing cuts to wages, but action in 1890 ensured that the district was the first in the county to adopt a standard seven-hour day. From Woolworths in Barnsley town centre several collieries and pit heaps were visible until after the Miners' Strike of 1984-85. As a result millions of pounds flowed into the beleaguered mining communities throughout the country. This was the first miners union in the area and, although this strike was not a success, it had sown a seed in the minds of the men which was to grow and grow. The widows and dependants of former miners were advised and represented even though they were not affiliated members.This income still fell short of that necessary to run an effective service, so the Union had to draw on the Durham Mining Federation Convalescent Fund. Jones consistently failed to take up the challenge.
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