1912 United Kingdom national coal strike

General coal strike February 2025 February 2015 National coal strike of 1912 Great Unrest Miners Strike of 1912 photo postcard.jpg Postcard of strike from 1912 1912 2 28 1912 4 06 y United Kingdom Mining minimum wage Expansion of minimum wage to mining and other industries through the Coal Mines Act MFGBCoal miners Coal companies ~1,000,000 The first national strike by coal miners in the United Kingdom took place in 1912. Its main goal was securing a minimum wage. After 37 days, the government intervened and ended the strike by passing the Coal Mines Act, extending minimum wage provisions to the mining industry and certain other industries with many manual jobs.Brian R. Mitchell Economic Development of the British Coal Industry, 1800-1914 https://books.google.com/books?id=BFQ9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA190 1984 CUP Archive 190–1 The dispute centred upon an attempt by the Miners Federation of Great Britain, the main trade union representing coal miners, to secure a minimum wage for miners in their district and replace the complicated wage structure then in place which often made it difficult for a miner to earn a fair day's wage. The same issues had caused a major dispute the previous year in South Wales and had become a national issue. The strike was a repeat of the unsuccessful strike of 1894 which also sought a minimum wage. The strike began at the end of February in Alfreton, Derbyshire and spread nationwide. Nearly one million miners took part. It ended on 6 April after 37 days.The Manchester Guardian (8 April 1912). The strike caused considerable disruption to train and shipping schedules.thumb|331x331px|People picking coal to heat their homesthumb|A sketch by Boardman Robinson depicting a miner emerging out of the earth with a pick axe and head seeking the light up. (in reference to coal strikes of 1912 in the US and UK) |274x274px|center See also West Virginia coal wars & strikes (1912–1921) 1926 United Kingdom general strike References Further reading Sires, Ronald V. "Labor Unrest in England, 1910–1914." Journal of Economic History 15.3 (1955): 246–266. online External links Peter Gill. "National coal strike". Michael Kelly. "Nostalgia: 100th anniversary of the national miners' strike". The Journal. collapsed Category:1912 labor disputes and strikes Category:1912 in the United Kingdom Category:Miners' labour disputes in the United Kingdom Category:February 1912 in the United Kingdom Category:March 1912 in the United Kingdom Category:April 1912 in the United Kingdom