OVER ONE thousand mining jobs are to be cut in the Selby group of pits in North Corkshire it was announced last week.
The jobs will go at Whitmoor, Shariston. Kellingly, Prince of Wales and Kiveton pits. British Coni has refused to nile out the loss of another 2000 jobs in the Yorkshire area. The pits thought to be under threat include HatMain and Bentley.
BritÃsh Coal says the future of these pits depends demand for coal. Despite being mid-winter, stocks of coal at 45 million tonnes are higher than at time since the start of the 1984-5 miners' strike.
The high stocks of coal are not surprising They are not the product of planning by British Coal, but of the decision of the to allow the Nectricity industry to buy cheap coal South Africa, Australia Poland and even China. Thatchers' project of grinding down the coal industry, by importing cheap-labour foreign coal is marching relentlessly on.
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