The Strike (part two)
By the end of January, the dwindling stocks of coal at power stations was beginning to have decisive effects on the country’s electricity supply. The government declared a State of Emergency on the 9th February, with the introduction of a three-day week following soon afterwards.
Sensing defeat, the Heath government set up a Court of Inquiry led by Lord Wilberforce to assess the miners’ pay claims. The ensuing Wilberforce Report acknowledged that ‘a serious fall has occurred in the relative pay position’ of miners and recommended pay increases of £6 for underground workers, £5 for surface workers and £4.50 for NPLA faceworkers.
After further negotiations over the details of the deal, the National Executive Committee of the NUM recommended settlement to members and picketing was brought to an end. On 25th February, a national ballot returned an overwhelming majority in favour of concluding the strike and returning to work.
Despite this victory and its effects on morale within the union, the underlying antagonisms within the industry and wider economy were not of course laid to rest – neither were the government’s combative industrial relations policies. With the issue of declining relative wages returning amid the ongoing energy crisis of the early 1970s, a second, highly-politicised, confrontation with the Heath government was imminent.