During the 1920s and 1930s the union was strongly affected by socialist and communist leadership as its members fought for better wages and living conditions. During World War II, they strongly supported government with increased production from the mines. In 1944 with the establishment of the National Union of Mineworkers, the NUSM became its "Scottish Area," with less autonomy. In the late 20th century, the mining industry declined dramatically in Scotland and across Great Britain, putting thousands of men out of work.
Forerunners
There had been several attempts to form a national union of miners in Scotland. The Scottish Coal and Iron Miners' Association, formed in 1855, organised a strike of 30,000 miners against a reduction in their wages, but the dispute was lost and the union dissolved soon after. The Scottish Coal and Iron-stone Miners' Protective Association was also formed in 1855 by various local unions, and was led by Alexander Macdonald; although this was also badly affected by the lost strike, it survived to reform as the Scottish Miners' Amalgamated Society in 1859, but achieved little as each union acted separately, and dissolved in 1863, by which time it had only 1,500 members.[3]
The Scottish Miners' Association was formed in 1872, with MacDonald as its secretary and treasurer. It worked closely with the Miners' National Union in England and Wales, and found immediate success, almost tripling pay while also reducing the output of the coal mines. However, a major strike from May to June 1874 used up all the union's reserve funds, and it thereafter achieved little.[4] It went bankrupt in 1882, due to a strike begun in the previous year.[5]
In 1886, Keir Hardie founded the Scottish Miners' National Federation. This was based on the Ayrshire Miners' Union, but initially had a total of 23,570 members in 26 districts. Hardie became its secretary and, through it newspaper, The Miner, he campaigned for the nationalisation of the coal mines, a minimum wage and a five-day week. Although its membership dropped rapidly, forcing it to dissolve in 1888, several of its districts survived as independent unions.[6]
History
The union was founded in 1894, as the Scottish Miners Federation (SMF). It initially brought together seven county unions,[7] with others joining soon after. It initially had 35,900 members.[8]
The unions which constituted the early federation were:
The union immediately organised a strike for better pay and conditions. It also joined the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, and this led to conflict. The SMF president, Robert Smillie, agreed to follow English unions in accepting wage reductions, against the wishes of secretary Chisholm Robertson and leading activist Shaw Maxwell.[10]
Although the early strike was lost, the federation continued, with membership reduced to under 16,000, and particularly few members in Lanarkshire. However, by the end of the decade it had regained members and, as coal prices rose, the union was able to win more of its demands.[10] The SMF became known as a strong supporter of socialism.[10]
By 1914, membership had risen to around 82,000, with half in Lanarkshire, one quarter in Fife and Kinross, an eighth in Ayrshire, and most of the remainder in Mid and East Lothian.[11] The union adopted a new structure, with less autonomy for its affiliates, and was renamed the "National Union of Scottish Mineworkers".[12] In 1929, a group of left-wingers, mostly linked with the Communist Party of Great Britain, left to form the rival United Mineworkers of Scotland. This initially saw some success, but they rejoined in 1936.[13]
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is a trade union for coal miners in Great Britain, formed in 1945 from the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB). The NUM took part in three national miners' strikes, in 1972, 1974 and 1984–85. After the 1984–85 strike and the subsequent closure of most of Britain's coal mines, it became a much smaller union. It had around 170,000 members when Arthur Scargill became leader in 1981, a figure which had fallen in 2015 to an active membership of around 100.
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.
The South Wales Miners' Federation (SWMF), nicknamed "The Fed", was a trade union for coal miners in South Wales. It survives as the South Wales Area of the National Union of Mineworkers.
The Leicestershire Miners' Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom.
The Midland Counties Miners' Federation was a trade union, representing coal miners in the West Midlands region of England.
The Cumberland Miners' Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom.
The Lanarkshire Miners' County Union, later the Lanarkshire Mineworkers' Union, represented coal miners in the Lanarkshire district of Scotland.
The North Wales Miners' Association was a trade union representing coal miners in Wales.
The Fife and Kinross Miners' Association was a coal miners' trade union based in Fife and Kinross-shire in Scotland.
Abraham Moffat was a Scottish trade unionist and communist activist. He was elected repeatedly to high office in the trade unions and represented the union on government coal boards. He held major union offices: President of the National Union of Scottish Mine Workers; member of the Executive Committee of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain; Vice-Chairman Scottish Regional Coal Board; and member National Coal Board. He served as president of the union from 1942 to his retirement in 1961, when he was succeeded by his younger brother Alex Moffat, also an activist.
Alexander B. Moffat was a Scottish trade unionist and communist activist who was President of the Scottish Trades Union Congress and the Scottish Mineworkers Union.
The Ayrshire Miners' Union was a coal mining trade union based in Scotland.
The Somerset Miners' Association or Somersetshire Miners' Association was a coal mining trade union based in the Somerset coalfield, Somerset, England.
The Mid and East Lothian Miners' Association (MELMA) was a trade union representing coal miners in parts of the Lothian area of Scotland.
The Mid and West Lothian Labour Federation was a trade union representing coal and shale miners in the West Lothian area of Scotland.
The Stirling Miners County Union was a trade union representing coal miners in the Stirlingshire area of Scotland.
James Doonan was a Scottish trade unionist.
The Miners' National Union (MNU) was a trade union which represented miners in Great Britain.
The Cannock Chase Miners', Enginemen's and Surfacemen's Association was a trade union representing coal miners in the Cannock Chase area of England.
The National Federation of Colliery Enginemen and Boiler Firemen was a union federation in the United Kingdom. Its membership changed over time, but was centred on unions representing enginemen at coal mines.
References
↑ Report on Trade Unions in 1905-1907. London: Board of Trade. 1909. p.121-124.
↑ Marsh, Arthur (1984). Trade Union Handbook (3ed.). Aldershot: Gower. p.259. ISBN0566024268.
↑ Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of Trades Unions, vol.2, pp.243 - 244
↑ Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of Trades Unions, vol.2, pp.244 - 245
↑ Anderson, W.K. (1 December 2001). "Andrew Fisher: 'a proud, honest man of Scotland'". Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society.
↑ Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of Trades Unions, vol.2, p.245
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