Coal Mines Regulation Act 1908

Last updated

Coal Mines Regulation Act 1908
Act of Parliament
Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (1901-1952).svg
Long title An Act to amend the Coal Mines Regulation Acts 1887 to 1905, for the purpose of limiting hours of work below ground.
Citation 8 Edw. 7. c. 57
Dates
Royal assent 21 December 1908
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Coal Mines Regulation Act 1908 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Coal Mines Regulation Act 1908 (8 Edw. 7. c. 57), also known as the Eight Hours Act or the Coal Mines (Eight Hours) Act, [1] was a piece of social legislation passed in 1908 in the United Kingdom by the Liberal government. It limited the hours a miner could work to eight hours per day. [2]

Contents

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth</span> British politician (1849–1909)

Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth,, was a moderate British Liberal Party statesman who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 until 1894 when he inherited his peerage and then sat in the House of Lords. He served in various capacities in the Liberal governments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The 1913 Australian referendum was held on 31 May 1913. It contained six referendum questions and was held in conjunction with the 1913 federal election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1909 Alberta general election</span>

The 1909 Alberta general election was the second general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It took place on March 22, 1909, to elect 41 members to the 2nd Alberta Legislature. The incumbent Liberal Party led by Premier Alexander C. Rutherford achieved a re-election victory, securing a majority government by winning 36 out of the 41 seats in the legislature with just under 60 per cent of the popular vote. The Conservative Party led by Albert Robertson once again formed the official opposition, with only two members, and Robertson himself was defeated in his own seat in High River. The remaining three seats were divided among smaller parties and independent candidates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mine Safety and Health Administration</span>

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is a large agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to enforce compliance with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents, to reduce the frequency and severity of nonfatal accidents, to minimize health hazards, and to promote improved safety and health conditions in the nation's mines. MSHA carries out the mandates of the Mine Act at all mining and mineral processing operations in the United States, regardless of size, number of employees, commodity mined, or method of extraction. David Zatezalo was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health, and head of MSHA, on November 30, 2017. He served until January 20, 2021. Jeannette Galanais served as Acting Assistant Secretary by President Joe Biden on February 1, 2021 until Christopher Williamson took office on April 11, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Factory Acts</span> UK laws on employment

The Factory Acts were a series of acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom beginning in 1802 to regulate and improve the conditions of industrial employment.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pit pony</span> Animal used in mines

A pit pony, otherwise known as a mining horse, was a horse, pony or mule commonly used underground in mines from the mid-18th until the mid-20th century. The term "pony" was sometimes broadly applied to any equine working underground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1909 Cherry Mine disaster</span> Fire in Cherry, Illinois, US

The Cherry Mine disaster was a fire which occurred at the Cherry Mine, a coal mine outside Cherry, Illinois, on November 13, 1909. The fire, which killed 259 men and boys, is the third most deadly mine disaster in American coal mining history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberal welfare reforms</span> Welfare state

The Liberal welfare reforms (1906–1914) were a series of acts of social legislation passed by the Liberal Party after the 1906 general election. They represent the emergence of the modern welfare state in the United Kingdom. The reforms demonstrate the split that had emerged within liberalism, between emerging social liberalism and classical liberalism, and a change in direction for the Liberal Party from laissez-faire traditional liberalism to a party advocating a larger, more active government protecting the welfare of its citizens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberal Government of New Zealand</span> First responsible government, 1891–1912

The Liberal Government of New Zealand was the first responsible government in New Zealand politics organised along party lines. The government formed following the founding of the Liberal Party and took office on 24 January 1891, and governed New Zealand for over 21 years until 10 July 1912. To date, it is the longest-serving government in New Zealand's history. The government was also historically notable for enacting significant social and economic changes, such as the Old Age Pensions Act and women's suffrage. One historian described the policies of the government as "a revolution in the relationship between the government and the people".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Redmayne</span> British engineer

Sir Richard Augustine Studdert Redmayne was a British civil and mining engineer. Redmayne worked as manager of several mines in Britain and South Africa before becoming a professor at the University of Birmingham. He was a leading figure in improving mine safety in the early twentieth century and would become the first Chief Inspector of Mines, leading investigations into many of the mine disasters of his time. He became the president of three professional associations, namely the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, the Institution of Professional Civil Servants and the Institution of Civil Engineers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Macdonald (Lib–Lab politician)</span>

Alexander Macdonald was a Scottish miner, teacher, trade union leader and Lib–Lab politician.

The United Kingdom Mines and quarries regulation in 1910 was a specialised topic in UK labour law, given the complexity of the legislation and seriousness of injuries that people suffered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Lupton</span> British politician and mining engineer

Arnold Lupton was a British Liberal Party Member of Parliament, academic, anti-vaccinationist, mining engineer and a managing director (collieries). He was jailed for pacifist activity during the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone</span> British politician (1854–1930)

Herbert John Gladstone, Viscount Gladstone, was a British Liberal politician. The youngest son of William Ewart Gladstone, he was Home Secretary from 1905 to 1910 and Governor-General of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Johnson (British politician)</span>

John Johnson was a British trade unionist and Lib-Lab politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coal Mines Act 1911</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Coal Mines Act 1911 amended and consolidated legislation in the United Kingdom related to collieries. A series of mine disasters in the 19th and early-20th centuries had led to commissions of enquiry and legislation to improve mining safety. The 1911 Act, sponsored by Winston Churchill, was passed by the Liberal government of H. H. Asquith. It built on earlier regulations and provided for many improvement to safety and other aspects of the coal mining industry. An important aspect was that mine owners were required to ensure there were mines rescue stations near each colliery with equipped and trained staff. Although amended several times, it was the main legislation governing coal mining for many years.

<i>R v Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration; Ex parte BHP</i> Judgement of the High Court of Australia

R v Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration; Ex parte BHP, was an early decision of the High Court of Australia concerning the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration in which the High Court controversially, granted prohibition against the Arbitration Court to prevent it from enforcing aspects of an industrial award. The High Court held that the Arbitration Court had gone beyond settling the dispute that had been submitted to it and in doing so had made a jurisdictional error.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mines Regulation Act 1860</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Act 23 & 24 Vict c 151, sometimes called the Mines Regulation Act 1860, the Mines Act 1860, the Inspection of Mines Act 1860, the Regulation and Inspection of Mines Act 1860, the Coal Mines Act 1860, the Coal Mines Regulation Act 1860, the Inspection and Regulation of Coal Mines Act 1860, or the Inspection of Coal Mines Act, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that raised the age of children working in coal mines from 10 to 12 years of age. There were exceptions if the boys could read and write or attended school for six hours per week. The Act also improved safety rules.

The 1908 Blackball miners' strike was industrial action that happened when seven miners in the small town of Blackball, on New Zealand's West Coast, were dismissed for taking longer than their allocated fifteen minutes, for lunch. This was one of many issues that were causing discontent within the coal-mining industry that was set up as a series of capitalist enterprises to meet the shipping needs of Britain as an imperial power. When Blackball township was established, the mining company provided low-quality living and working conditions for the miners and after the town became populated by immigrants with union experience overseas, some of the grievances that eventually resulted in the strike emerged. The strike has been seen as a formative event in New Zealand history because of the successful outcome for the miners from the eleven-week strike by the use of direct action and organised unionism. This was the first real challenge to the Arbitration Court, set up under legislation by the Liberal Government in 1894 to support mediation in industrial disputes, and highlighted the difficulties of getting a resolution because of the wide range of political, social and cultural factors that resulted in a degree of intransigence by both the miners and the mine company. A number of the leading strikers subsequently became leaders in the political labour movement.

References

  1. "Mines Eight Hours Act (1909)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . House of Lords. 9 November 1909. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. Coal Mines Regulation Act 1908 , retrieved 9 March 2016 via National Archives

Further reading