Women and the Miners’ Strike 1984-5
Mining communities grew up around pit heads where shafts were sunk to extract coal. Coal became a source of great wealth as it became the primary fuel used in Britain which led it to be nicknamed ‘King Coal’. The prominence of coal as a fuel in Britain meant that the National Union of Mineworkers [NUM] was a powerful union. During the 1970s evidence of the power of the miners and their union was demonstrated. In 1972 the miners went on strike for the first time since 1926, bringing the entire country to a virtual standstill and forcing the introduction of the three day working week. The miners went out on strike again in 1974 with the same result. On both occasions the miners obtained the wage increases they were demanding and in 1974 they also obtained the introduction of a compensation scheme for pneumoconiosis sufferers and a new pension scheme. Both of these strikes were predominantly male affairs with the men undertaking strike work and manning the pickets while women took little active participation.
Lancashire Women Against Pit Closures Postcard showing a miners strike demonstration
The 1984-5 strike was different from the earlier strikes in the 1970s. This strike was not about obtaining an increase in pay but rather it was about jobs, industry survival and ultimately family and community survival. The announcement in March 1984 that twenty pits were to be closed including Cortonwood Colliery near Barnsley in South Yorkshire, on which several million pounds had just been spent upgrading the pit, sparked the conflict. The proposed closures would result in 20,000 job losses across the industry. Various mines began to strike as a result of the proposed closures and on 12 March 1984 Arthur Scargill, president of the NUM, called for the strikes at the various coal fields to become a national strike.
Fliers advertising opportunities to meet miners’ wives and to hear first hand how the dispute was affecting them
As mining communities were often located in remote areas, their isolation created an increased importance in the local community. To understand the impact that the strike had on women it is important to understand that this isolation had created a specific social structure. Women of the mining communities were brought up with a very ‘traditional’ view of their position. Women’s lives were based around family, home, and children while the men worked in the pit and brought home the wage. The 1984-5 strike would not only forever change mining communities in the wider sense but it would also affect each individual. This was especially true for women and the role they occupied within the community. Even though great hardships were suffered positives did come out of the strike. For women it provided opportunities to flourish in new fields they had never had cause or chance to explore before.
Letter from a supporter to the Communist Party of Great Britain donating money to help miners’ wives specifically requesting that it help the women of Abertillery attend a march in London
Soon after the beginning of the strike women mobilised themselves
into action, undertaking a range of activities. The initial activities
usually built on the traditional roles the women had always
undertaken. The setting up and running of community
kitchens was generally the first action of the groups, and one which built
on the catering skills women already possessed. Knowing first
hand how hard it was for the families of striking men, the women
fought to make sure that the kitchens were open not only to the
pickets but also to their families.
The women also held fundraising events, participated in demonstrations and became speakers at rallies and speaking tours in the UK and abroad where they let people know what the strike was like for themselves, their families and for the communities. For the first time women also joined men on the picket lines and formed part of flying pickets. In what often became a violent and confrontational situation women were in the front line, and like the men on the pickets were injured as a result. In such a traditional community structure men initially were resistant to the involvement of women, but soon came to realise their importance and how vital their support was to the continuation of the strike.
Spare Rib Oct 1984 - It is difficult now to convey the hardships that women faced during the 1984-5 strike
and how revolutionary the whole experience was for them. In this article from Spare Rib two women from
South Yorkshire relate their experiences of the strike in their own words, October 1984
To read the whole article, download the pdf(1.3mb)
The activities the women organised came about as a result of women getting together to do something, and from this developed an active women’s network that provided a vital support network for the miners’ wives. The development of women’s participation in the strike was prompted by reports in the press that the women were not supporting their men. To show that the women were behind their men and communities whole heartedly, local meetings were organised which brought together women with a purpose often for the first time. These community based groups also came together in a national context to form Women Against Pit Closures (WAPC). The WAPC branches were a support network composed of women who were all enduring the same hardships. This gave women a supportive environment in which to break away from traditional roles and develop and use new skills. It truly was a revolutionary experience for these women, who had previously led the sheltered life of wife and mother, to find they had skills, talents and strength that had previously been hidden.
Barnsley Women Against Pit Closures leaflet detailing their aims and a brief history of the group c. May 1984
Despite the hard work women and men had put into the strike, as financial hardships increasingly took hold miners began to break the strike and return to work. In the light of this a vote was taken by the NUM National Executive who voted 98 to 91 in favour of an organised return to work. The strike formally ended on 3 March 1985, almost a year after it had begun, with miners returning to work with their heads held high behind their colliery banners alongside the women who had provided them with so much support. The year long strike had brought extreme poverty to families who had spent a year without wages and had struggled to get by on what they could. The Trades Union Congress [TUC] formally thanked the women and openly acknowledged that without the backing, support and hard work of the women the strike would not have lasted so long.
Women’s Pit Prop March 1985 – published just after the end of the strike. Contains extracts from Arthur Scargills speech encouraging the women to remain active and to keep fighting
In the years following the strike there was a systematic closure of the majority of deep pits in Britain. The removal of the pits caused the death of a way of life and with it the communities that had grown up around the pits. The strike was a life changing experience for everyone who was involved and for many it was a wake up call. The women did not want to return to life as it had been before the strike, and as the pits closed many could not. These women had discovered a voice, new skills and talents and they wanted space to be able to continue to grow. Many took the opportunity to expand their education, develop careers, continue the community organisations they had set up and operate beyond the ‘home’ environment. The WAPC organisations continued to function as a support group, fighting pit closures and continuing that solidarity that women had found by coming together.
In 2004 Women Against Pit Closures held events to mark the twentieth anniversary of the beginning of the strike, and to celebrate women's contributions to class struggles in the 20th century.
Lancashire Women Against Pit Closures Flyer
The Labour History Archive and Study Centre hold:
- Records of the national Labour Party
- Records of Lesbian and Gays support the miners (Ref: LGSM)
- A collection of Miner's Strike Papers (Ref: MS84)
- Records of the Communist Party of Great Britain
- A run of 'Spare Rib' magazine
The Working Class Movement Library holds:
- Records of Lancashire Women Against Pit Closures.
Author: Jo Robson, Archivist, Labour History Archive and Study Centre
