1893 United Kingdom miners' strike

Miners' strike in Great Britain

The 1893 miners' strike was a major industrial action affecting many areas of Great Britain.

The strike involved about 300,000 coal miners in the Federated District, making it larger than any previous strike in the UK. This consisted of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Cannock Chase and Shropshire, Nottinghamshire, South Derbyshire and Leicestershire, Forest of Dean, Radstock, Bristol, Warwickshire, North Wales, Stirlingshire and Monmouth. All these areas had active unions, which were affiliated to the recently founded Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB).

The price of coal had fallen since the start of the 1890s, and in the hope of reducing surplus coal stocks, the MFGB instructed all its members in the Federated District to take a week's holiday, starting on 12 March 1892. This was almost universally observed, despite the protests of many mine owners, who feared that it would worsen their individual financial position, and perhaps also that it would strengthen the position of the MFGB. At the same time, mine owners in County Durham proposed a 10% reduction in wages, and when the Durham Miners' Association's (DMA) members voted strongly to reject this, they were locked out. In Durham, the union was defeated, miners returning to work after 12 weeks with their wages cut as originally proposed, and this experience inspired the DMA to affiliate to the MFGB.

The Federated District unions maintained their levels of pay until 30 June 1893, when mine owners in the district collectively announced a 25% cut in wages. This was strongly opposed by the MFGB. At the end of July, unionised miners in most pits in the district were locked out, with just a few strikebreakers continuing to work. At some pits, no notice of a proposed reduction had been given, and miners instead initiated strike action themselves, although there were a handful of these pits where work continued. However, the miners in Durham, Northumberland and Monmouthshire did not take part in the co-ordinated action, and their unions resigned or were expelled from the MFGB. During August, there was a stand-off, but at the start of September, there were widespread clashes between striking miners and strikebreakers in Yorkshire. Troops were deployed to the areas where violence had occurred, and the Yorkshire Miners' Association called for peace. On 7 September, two miners were killed by troops in Featherstone, in what became known as the "Featherstone Massacre".

The MFGB accepted the gradual return to work among miners who were able to do so at their old pay rate, and by the end of October, the number of locked out workers was down to 87,000. The mine owners reduced their demand to a 15% wage reduction, which was considered at a conference held in Derby on 3 and 4 November, chaired by A. J. Mundella. The MFGB refused this offer, maintaining a demand for no cuts in wages, and for the formation of a board of conciliation to consider future disputes. A second conference was organised, chaired by Lord Rosebery, which agreed a Board of Conciliation and a return to work with no cut in wages, and for no cuts to take place before 1 February 1894. Having won their demands, on 17 November, the miners returned to work.

By February 1894, the price of coal had risen, and so the two sides were able in July to agree to a 10% pay cut, with no further reductions.

References

^ Neville, Robert G. (1976). "The Yorkshire Miners and the 1893 Lockout: the Featherstone "Massacre"". International Review of Social History. 21 (3): 337–357. doi:10.1017/S0020859000005290. S2CID 144497416.
^ Page Arnot, Robin (1953), The Miners: A history of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain from 1910 onwards, George Allen and Unwin, pp. 203–258

v t e Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) and National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
Presidents	1889 Pickard 1904 En. Edwards 1912 Smillie 1922 Smith 1929 Richards 1931 Eb. Edwards 1932 Lee 1934 J. Jones 1939 Lawther 1954 E. Jones 1960 Machen 1960 Ford 1971 Gormley 1982 Scargill 2002 Lavery 2012 Wilson
Vice-Presidents	1889 Woods 1909 Smillie 1912 Harvey 1914 House 1917 Smith 1922 Walsh 1924 Richards 1929 Eb. Edwards 1931 Lee 1932 J. Jones 1933 Davies 1934 Lawther 1939 Bowman 1950 E. Jones 1954 T. Jones 1961 Collindridge 1963 Bullough 1969 Schofield 1973 McGahey 1987 Thompson 1989 Vacant 1992 Cave 2002 Stanley 2010 Wilson 2012 Thomas
General Secretaries	1889 Ashton 1919 Hodges 1924 Cook 1932 Eb. Edwards 1946 Horner 1959 Paynter 1968 Daly 1984 Heathfield 1992 Scargill 1992 Vacant? 2002 Kemp 2007 Kitchen
Treasurers	1889 En. Edwards 1904 Abraham 1918 Robson 1921 Richardson
Affiliates and areas	Bristol Cleveland Cokemen Colliery Officials and Staffs Cumberland Derbyshire Durham Forest of Dean Kent Lancashire and Cheshire Leicestershire Midland Counties (Cannock Chase North Staffordshire Old Hill Pelsall Shropshire Warwickshire West Bromwich) Northumberland North Wales Nottinghamshire Scotland (Ayrshire Fife and Kinross Lanarkshire Mid and East Lothian Mid and West Lothian Stirling) Somerset South Derbyshire South Wales Yorkshire
Strikes	1893 1912 1926 1969 1972 1974 1984–1985

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1893 United Kingdom miners' strike

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