Coal Mines Act 1930

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Coal Mines Act 1930
Act of Parliament
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Long title An Act to provide for regulating and facilitating the production, supply and sale of coal by owners of coal mines; for the temporary amendment of section three of the Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1908; for the constitution and functions of a Coal Mines National Industrial Board; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
Citation 20 & 21 Geo. 5. c. 34
Dates
Royal assent 1 August 1930
Other legislation
Repealed by Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946
Status: Repealed

The Coal Mines Act 1930 (20 & 21 Geo. 5. c. 34) was an act of Parliament which introduced a system of quotas in the coal mining industry of Great Britain. It was a major achievement of the Labour Party, which revoked the eight hour day that had been enacted in 1926, replacing it with a 7 12 hour day. Mine owners were allowed to fix quotas and minimum prices. Theoretically, the new commission was to plan to close less-efficient pits, but it was not effective. Historian A. J. P. Taylor says that:

on the contrary, the act protected the inefficient. It operated restriction and stable prices at the expense of the consumer. Here was the pattern for British capitalism in the thirties. [1]

The Act created the Coal Mines Reorganization Commission, consisting of five commissioners. [2]

References

  1. Taylor, A. J. P. (1965). English History 1914-1945. p. 279.
  2. Court, W. H. B. (1945). "Problems of the British Coal Industry between the Wars" . The Economic History Review. 15 (1/2): 1–24. doi:10.2307/2590308. ISSN   0013-0117.

Further reading