The Trade Unions

THE SOUTH WALES MINERS FEDERATION

The idea of one union, or federation of unions to cover the whole of the South Wales Coalfield had long been mooted, especially in the Monmouthshire part with its longer tradition of Trades Unionism. Advocated in the main part by such notable leaders as William Brace and Tom Richards, their dream finally came to fruition in October of 1898. Following the disastrous four-month strike and then lock out of that year when the miners were forced back to work on the owner’s terms, losing Mabon’s Day off, continuation of the Sliding Scale and the rejection of a 10% pay rise, the seven district unions came together and formed the South Wales Miners Federation. The first president was William Abrahams (Mabon), the vice-president was William Brace, and the general secretary was Thomas Richards. Mr. Richards’ home at Beaufort, Ebbw Vale became the Office. Twenty districts were formed with each district of 3,000 members having one representative on the executive council, with one extra representative per 6,000 members thereon. The initial council consisted of 32 members. The lodges and districts retained their autonomy under a federal system, with the miner’s agents for the districts being on a permanent full-time basis. Tom Richards was the first sponsored MP being elected as a Lib-Lab in 1904 for West Monmouthshire, in 1906 he was joined by Mabon, William Brace and John Williams as MPs and it was in that year that the SWMF affiliated with the Labour Party. In January 1899 the SWMF was affiliated to the Miners Federation of Great Britain.

From a membership of 108,363 for the Sliding Scale Agreement of 1898, initial membership of the SWMF fell to 60,000 about 45% of the workforce. It then rapidly grew to 127,894 by 1900, and by 1915 of the 220,000 men employed in the Coalfield over 165,000 were in the SWMF. 1920 was the year of the highest membership when it reached 197,668, with the Rhondda No.1 District alone having 40,083 members in 32 lodges. The problematic times of the early 1920s eroded membership to 148,400 by the beginning of 1926, with the rout of the miners in the strike and lock-out of that year causing a loss of over 70,000 so that by December of 1927 membership stood at 72,981. At the end of 1930, out of a workforce of 140,000 men, 75,480 were members of the SWMF. The trade depressions and non-unionism of these times brought membership further down to 62,089 by December of 1931. The great campaigns against non-unionism and the South Wales Miners Industrial Union in the Coalfield by the SWMF brought the membership up to 112,743 (out of 126,233 employed) by 1936, and to 120,575 in 1940. South Wales became the first British Coalfield to have a ‘closed shop’ in 1942.

For someone who has never lived the valley life of recent years it must be difficult to comprehend the role of the Federation, it encompassed far more than mere industrial relations. It encroached on every possible aspect of life. It was every sort of organisation imaginable, be it political, social, medical, charitable or whatever, it was the FED. The Lodge Secretary in particular was the hub of this great enveloping machine, a mediator, a fighter, a provider, a lawyer, a social worker, an Irish parish priest or a modern-day energetic MP that was he. If this can be understood then you are part of the way along the road to understanding the incredible loyalty given to the Fed by miners and their families. Although many were driven by hunger and deprivation temporarily from the fold, it was a loyalty that the owners and governments failed to break.

By 1912 many viewed the structure of the SWMF as being to unwieldy to combat the efficient organisations of the owners, coupled with the enormous concern over the powers of Miner’s Agents caused a ballot to be held in September to abolish the District system and opt for centralisation. However, frantic manipulations by the powers that be caused this decision to be reversed by another ballot.

In 1915 non-unionism strikes broke out all over the Coalfield and enabled the SWMF to negotiate in 1916 that membership would be a condition of employment during the war period. Non-unionism would not go away and remained the main bone of contention throughout the 1920’s and 30’s. In February 1920 Rule 3 (b) was altered to enable the organisation of all workers and officials in the industry and by February of 1921, the Craftsmen’s union had been absorbed into the SWMF. This had little lasting effect though for 6,000 craftsmen again broke away in August of that year. Again in 1923 particularly at Llanelli, Garw Valley, Rhymney Valley and Rhondda pits non-unionism strikes broke out. The battles of the 1930s with the South Wales Miners Industrial Union are covered on the page dealing with that union, it suffices to say that the South Wales Colliery Enginemen, Boilermen and Craftsmen Association was absorbed in 1938 and the SWMIU in June of 1939. The final chapter in the battle against scab labour came in 1942 when the SWMF obtained a closed shop.

A major re-organisation of the SWMF came about when in 1933 it was proposed to forge direct links between the Lodges and Central Office.

There were to be eight new areas, and these were to be for reporting purposes only, a rank-and-file Executive Council was to be elected every two years with one EC Member per 6,000 members per area, plus one for further members for every extra 6,000 in that area. The new proposals were implemented from the 1st of January 1934.

The Forest of Dean Miners Union merged with the SWMF in 1940.

In 1944 a ballot of the members of the SWI\IF voted 74,303 votes to 9,446 for one trade union to cover all the miners of the United Kingdom. On the First of January 1945, the South Wales Miners Federation became the South Wales Area of the National Union of Mineworkers.

THE SOUTH WALES MINERS INDUSTRIAL UNION

Also called the non-pol, scab, company or Spencer union, it had a brief but turbulent existence during the period between 1926 and January 1938. If not directly organised by some of the coal owners, particularly the Ocean Coal Company, this shadowy organisation (no records or minutes appear to have been kept) was without doubt actively supported by them as a tool to break the power of the South Wales Miners Federation. Paradoxically, it can be said that the very presence of the SWMIU brought about a new vigour and determination to the Federation following its disastrous defeat in 1926.

The first indication of this new Union was during the 1926 Lock-out when at Raglan Colliery William Gregory left the SWMF and persuaded others to return to work with him and set up his own ‘Industrial Union’. He was later to become General Secretary of the SWMIU. A SWMF report following the return to work stated that at Meiros Colliery. “It is reported that the men have set up some kind of a Union which has no connection whatever with the SWMF.” While at Raglan Colliery they reported; “it is definite that at this colliery men have formed an organisation of some kind, and one of the declared objects is to work in harmony with the company the company giving every facility to the men.” But it was at Taff Merthyr Colliery that the real impetus to form this new union developed.

Following the drift back to work and the collapse of the seven-month-long strike and lock-out of 1926, a meeting was held at the Bontnewydd Hotel at Trelewis where 500 miners working at Taff Merthyr decided upon separation from the SWMF, claiming that the new union would be non-political. A week later their new union was named the South Wales Miners Industrial Union. Initially ignored by the SWMF, campaigning for this new union started in the Rhymney Valley, where its officials were welcomed with open arms at the pits by their owners while the officials of the SWMF were banned it soon spread throughout the Coalfield and became particularly strong in the Garw Valley, Park and Dare Colliery in the Rhondda, Emlyn Colliery in the anthracite area, Bedwas Colliery in the lower Rhymney Valley, and of course at Taff Merthyr Colliery.

The SWMIU claimed to have 21 branches in January of 1927 with a membership of 30,000 (a figure hotly disputed by the SWMF) and was registered as a trade union in June 1927. The first annual conference was held at the Grand Hotel hi Cardiff in September 1927 when 121 delegates from 121 branches attended. Its area of influence can be seen from the make-up of the executive council which consisted of 12 members from east Glamorgan, 5 members from Monmouthshire, and one from the anthracite section of the Coalfield. With no records kept or minute books or balance sheets logged it is impossible to gauge its actual size, but by January of 1936 it was claimed to have 5,991 members and by December of that year, only 443 members at Taff Merthyr Colliery remained.

The bitter and protracted war waged on the SWMIU by the SWMF resulted in the branch at Emlyn Colliery being disbanded in April 1934 this pit had at one time claimed 80% membership in the SWMIU. The bitter struggle for SWMF recognition at Taff Merthyr during 1934/35 received a setback when the men working there chose to stay with the SWMIU. The turning point came in October 1935 when the importation into pits of strikebreakers in the form of the SWMIU especially at Nine Mile Point Colliery led to stay-down strikes at the ‘Point, Risca, Dare, Garw and Fernhill pits, which were supported by mass walk-outs throughout the Coalfield.

Following this spontaneous support of the SWMF, only Bedwas and Taff Merthyr collieries remained SWMIU strongholds.

Bedwas Colliery fell in 1936, but despite all the efforts of the SWMF at Taff Merthyr Colliery another ballot in October 1937 narrowly favoured the SWMIU. The ballot result at Taff Merthyr failed to halt the decline of this Union and it was finally merged with the SWMF in June 1939.

To illustrate the enormous impact that these events had on the Coalfield, set out below are brief details of the ‘battles’ at three collieries;

Bedwas Navigation – In July 1931 the local SWMF Lodge called the men out on a strike which lasted fourteen days only 500 men were re-employed after this strike and the company tried to break the power of the lodge by bringing in workers from outside of the area. In February 1933 the company brought in 60 new men in preference to those who were still waiting for their jobs back, another strike was called, but within a week 200 more men were brought into the pit, and by the middle of March this had risen to 500 men. On the 26th of February, the company recognised the SWMIU and made membership of this union a condition of employment, and membership of the SWMF a cause for dismissal. On the 17th of March 1933, there was serious rioting in the village after two women were arrested for taunting the blacklegs going to work, and a crowd attacked the police station. By the time that the strike was called off 700 newcomers were working at Bedwas, and by the end of April only 250 of the original manpower were back in work. By mid-1933 there were 1,300 ‘scabs’ working at this pit from as far afield as Merthyr and Rhymney. Wages were now further reduced and working conditions got worse. The Bedwas Company were so determined to destroy the SWMF that they pressed the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Owners Association to only recognise and negotiate with the SWMIU, the Association refused to do this and the Bedwas Company withdrew from the South Wales Conciliation Procedure. In 1935 the SWMF targeted Bedwas Colliery in their campaign to restore 100% membership in the Coalfield, three Executive Council Members were appointed to deal with the matter, and a ‘hearts and minds’ programme was started. On the 3rd of September 1936, eighty men stayed down the North Pit in support of the SWMF, and the breakthrough had been made. Following the threat of a coalfield-wide strike in support of these men, the coal owners and the Government put pressure on the Bedwas owners to meet with the SWMF. The Federation’s negotiators conceded to abide by the colliery’s system of pay and conditions in an attempt to get back into the pit, and eventually, the owners permitted a ballot to be held in which 1,452 men voted, 1,022 of these voted to have their contributions to the SWMIU revoked. A compromise agreement was then made and a second ballot was held in which 1,487 (91% of the workforce) voted, with 1,177 voting for the SWMF. The Federation was back and recognised at Bedwas Colliery.

Nine Mile Point Colliery – On Saturday, 12th of October 1935, 78 men decided to stay down the West Pit in protest over the importation of ‘scab’ labour in the form of the SWMIU. These men were being brought from all parts of the Coalfield by the Ocean Coal Company in an attempt to break the South Wales Miners Federation at the colliery. By the following Monday, the stay-down strike had spread to the other pits at Nine Mile Point and by the Tuesday there were 70 men down the West Pit; 73 men down the Rock Pit and 19 staying down the East Pit. On the Wednesday 8,000 miners in the locality were on strike in support, with another stay-down strike at the neighbouring Risca Colliery. Considerable crowds were now ever present at the pit top in an attempt to stop the scabs from reaching the pit Large police reinforcements, including mounted police, were brought in and many battles ensued between the police and the local population. Crowds of men, women and children walked to other pits that were working and brought them out on strike. On Saturday the 19th of October, although this action was unofficial, 30,000 men were on strike in the Coalfield and hurried negotiations between the Ocean Coal Company and the SWMF settled the problem of ‘scab’ labour at Nine Mile Point Colliery forever. The men emerged to a heroes welcome, 89 men came up the West Pit where the majority had been underground for 177 hours, a world record, 19 men came up the East Pit and 76 men came up the Rock Pit where they had been underground for 128 hours.

Taff Merthyr Colliery – In 1929 the SWMF launched a campaign at Taff Merthyr to persuade the men there to transfer their allegiance from the SWMIU to the Fed. The result of this campaign was that 1,100 of the 1,500 men at this pit asked the owners, the Taff Merthyr Steam Coal Company, to stop their subscriptions to the SWMIU. The company’s reply to this was to state that any man who dropped out of the SWMIU would face instant dismissal. In March 1930 the SWMF obtained 876 signatures from the men at Taff Merthyr making a personal application to withdraw from the SWMIU, following pressure from the owners most of the men later withdrew their applications. In late 1934 the SWMF launched another campaign at Taff Merthyr by way of holding meetings outside of the pit at the start of shifts. On the 9th of October, 12 potential members were sacked and the night shift went on strike, followed by the dayshift, but by the Monday morning partial work had resumed. By the third week of the strike, there were 200 back in work. After six weeks the company agreed to allow a ballot to be held, but stipulated that only the men at work could vote, there were still 600 out on strike. The agreement was for the SWMF to organise the ballot but before this was done the SWMIU carried out a ballot; with the result that 542 out of the 654 men at work voted to retain the SWMIU. The arguments and propaganda simmered on until the company conceded that the men be allowed to join a Union of their choice, it wasn’t until October 1935 that the men who had opted to join the SWMF were re-employed at the pit. In 1937 another ballot was held, the result being 453 votes to 448 votes in support of the SWMIU, this union then remained in Taff Merthyr Colliery, its last stronghold until it was merged with the SWMF in 1939.

Information supplied by Ray Lawrence and used here with his permission.