Trade union

• Causes

  • triple alliance: railway workers, coal miners, transport workers
  • working on conditions and wages
  • Close relationship with government during the war
  • after war- coal price fell and owners wanted to reduce pay by 13% and increase shifts at 7/8 hrs
  • 1925 government agreed to support miners wages temporarily
  • Subsidy ran out TUC began general strike
• events

  • 800 00 miners went on strike
  • TUC called out more and more till millions went on strike
  • 4th may TUC called for general strike
  • TUC began secretly negotiating with government and forced to call off the strike 9 days after they called it
• Short term

  • general strike showed strength and solidarity of the working class
  • Employers felt they could reduce union power
  • workers in a weaker position when the Great Depression in 1929 caused unemployment
• Long term

  • Union membership grew
  • Strikes more frequent and government gave in to demands
  • Margaret thatcher reduced union power
  • Miners strike was a pivotal point
  • Margaret thatcher had a victory
• 1984 Miner's strike

  • Government prepared by stockpiling coal
  • 1984- thatcher closed unproductive pits
  • Arthur Scargill (NUM) demanded no pit closes and called NUM strike
  • Strike continued into 1985
  • Wrongful arrests, unlawful detention
  • miners had to return to work and pis began to close