Miners' Federation of Great Britain
| Founded | 26 November 1889 |
|---|---|
| Successor | National Union of Mineworkers |
| Date dissolved | 1 January 1945 |
| Members |
Bristol Miners' Association Cumberland Miners' Association Derbyshire Miners' Association Durham Miners' Association Kent Miners Association Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation Leicestershire Miners' Association Midland Counties Miners' Federation North Wales Miners' Association Northumberland Miners' Association Nottinghamshire Miners' Association Scottish Miners Federation Somerset Miners' Association South Wales Miners' Federation Yorkshire Miners' Association |
| Affiliation | MIF, TUC |
| Office location | 50 Russell Square, London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in England, Scotland and Wales whose associations remained largely autonomous. At its peak, the federation represented nearly one million workers. It was reorganised into the National Union of Mineworkers in 1945.
In 1888 after colliery owners rejected a call for a pay rise from the Yorkshire Miners' Association, several conferences were organised to discuss the possibility of forming a national union. At the conference held in the Temperance Hall in Newport, South Wales in November 1889, the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was formed.Ben Pickard of the Yorkshire Miners' Association was elected president and Sam Woods of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation (LCMF) its vice-president. Enoch Edwards from the Midland Counties Miners' Federation was its first treasurer and Thomas Ashton, also from the LCMF, its first secretary.Keir Hardie was one of the Scottish delegates at the conference. At the inaugural meeting it was agreed to raise funds to carry on the federation's business, to protect miners by taking an interest in trade and wages, secure legislation and call conferences to discuss matters. It intended to obtain an eight-hour day "from bank to bank" for all underground workers, attend inquests and seek to obtain compensation for miners killed in incidents involving more than three persons.
Most of the founding unions were part of the Federated District. This had been created in 1888 and covered Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, the Midland Counties, Lancashire and Cheshire, and North Wales. In these districts, most output was used within the UK and, as a result, variations in international trade had less impact on them. Their unions were opposed to payment of miners on a "sliding scale" based on the selling price of coal, a practice which was standard in South Wales, Northumberland and Durham. In recognition of this status, a single Conciliation Board was created for the Federated District. The Federated District unions often worked together and opposed initiatives of the other MFGB affiliates. In 1918, a majority of the MFGB decided instead to campaign for a single National Wages Board and this led to the break-up of the Federated District. A. R. Griffin claimed that this "...did incalculable harm to the miners of the Midlands without doing any good to anyone else".
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