UK miners' strike (1972)

The 1972 UK miners' strike was a major strike involving a dispute between the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Conservative Edward Heath government over pay. It began on 9 January 1972 and ended on 28 February 1972, when the miners returned to work. The strike was called by the National Executive Committee of the NUM and ended when the miners accepted an improved pay offer in a ballot. It was the first time since 1926 that British miners had been on official strike, but there had been a widespread unofficial strike in 1969.

The strike occurred after wage negotiations between the NUM and the National Coal Board had broken down. It was the first time since 1926 that British miners had officially gone on strike (although there had been unofficial strikes). The dispute was caused by the issue of pay. In 1960, according to one study, "miners, of whom there were still half a million in 1960, enjoyed historically unprecedented standards of living." According to another study, while the real net income of an average miner in 1957 with a wife and two children was approximately 22% above that of his male counterpart in manufacturing, that fell to approximately 2% below the manufacturing figure in 1969.

During the 1950s, the wages of miners went up from a prewar position of 84th to near the top in the league table of the wages earned by industrial workers, and by 1960, miners' wages were 7.4% above the average pay of workers in manufacturing industries. During the 1960s, however, pay fell behind other workers, and by 1970 were earning 3.1% less than the average worker in manufacturing.

During a parliamentary debate on the strike in its second week, both Labour and Conservative MPs praised the miners for the forbearance shown during the mass pit closures in the 1960s.

The National Association of Colliery Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers did not strike. Following some confrontations with NUM pickets, the National Coal Board adopted a policy of giving leave on full pay to any members of NACODS who faced aggressive intimidation on the way to work.

The strike was characterised by the use of flying pickets sent to other industrial sites to persuade other workers to strike in solidarity with the miners, which led to railway workers' refusing to transport coal and power station workers' refusing to handle coal.

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