Today in Welsh history... 12 March 1984, the Miner’s Strike officially began.
By the 1980s the British coal industry was one of the safest and most efficient in the world. However, the Conservative Party wanted to ‘slim down’ what they regarded as unprofitable industries. Under Margaret Thatcher, many former state run industries like gas, water and the railways were privatised. At the same time Thatcher wanted to weaken the power of the trade union movement which she believed had become too powerful.
More than 25,000 Welsh mineworkers lost their jobs in the decade-long programme of pit closures which followed the strike.
According to one former miner Keith Gildart:
“The breakdown of communities and traditional families has led to what's been termed the crisis of masculinity, with no role models to encourage young men into a career, and no collective aspiration or expectation to succeed.”
By the 1980s the British coal industry was one of the safest and most efficient in the world. However, the Conservative Party wanted to ‘slim down’ what they regarded as unprofitable industries. Under Margaret Thatcher, many former state run industries like gas, water and the railways were privatised. At the same time Thatcher wanted to weaken the power of the trade union movement which she believed had become too powerful.
More than 25,000 Welsh mineworkers lost their jobs in the decade-long programme of pit closures which followed the strike.
According to one former miner Keith Gildart:
“The breakdown of communities and traditional families has led to what's been termed the crisis of masculinity, with no role models to encourage young men into a career, and no collective aspiration or expectation to succeed.”