Fighting Yorkshire pit closures
By SUE OWEN IN the wake of the defeat of the miners' strike, many must be secretly wondering if it's even worth trying to fight pit closures. As a leaflet put out by the Yorkshire Miners Campaign Group says:
"Jobs have been lost by the thousand, members have voted to shut their own pits. The NUM is no longer effectively able to bargain nationally because. of the split. The rightward drift in the labour movement is influencing all of us... the pressure is on for us to be 'realistic and everything seems to be sacrificed to the sacred cow Labour Government Of electing a Yet many miners want to fight back.
The Yorkshire Miners' Campaign Group started when a number of rank and file NUM members together in the last months of the strike to try and halt the decline of the strike. They now see their fight as being within the NUM, to rebuild the fighting strength of the union.
They aim to do this by bringing together activists still keen to fight to boost morale, share ideas organise against management attacks, such as closures.
In the successful fight of Darfield Main against closure last year, the Campaign Group threw its behind the campaign of the branch and the contacts and publicity resources, For example the entire route of the
Yorkshire Miners' Gala march was lyposted with "Darfield's Not Done" posters.
Similarly in today's campaigns against closure at Kinsley Drift and
Cadeby: the Campaign Group car einforce what Branch activists are doing, organising publicity and support and helping to put pressure on the leadership to take action.
The meetings of the Campaign Group are organised by miners for miners and are democratic and open in atmosphere. Women from Women Against Pit Closures women attend.
Inevitably various left tendencies are present and get a fair hearing, but none is allowed to domineer or dominate. Speakers have attended people just about from other disputes (including the printers and Silentnight) and other
Broadwater Farm).
The Campaign came
Wapping to support the printers.
Ed Fredenburah from the and
Justice for Mineworkers Campaign.
continuing
There was a lively pit high weight offering
Yorkshire-wide union's Area direction in recent months.
These meeting quarterly and other both the the TUC - Bill Morris.
Socialist Viewpoint No. 13 July 1986 p17
Yorks miners have been campaigning against nuclear power.
from the NUM in Kent and Notts., fundraising.
(South Africa
Group were the main mobilisers in Yorkshire for the
March 2 demonstration for the sacked miners and they have sent busloads to
At the last meeting I attended, about 50 were present, mostly rank and file miners, including some new faces, and about ten women. The only united meeting heard Billy Etherington and
National committed discussion showing strong feeling in favour of a fighting campaigning profile for the whole.
Todd pressed by hard right
Chair.
National
Labour Party
I sacked and imprisoned miners and against confining activities to
The contrast between the rank and file enthusiasm at this meeting and the sterile bureaucratic rhetoric at the previous day's National Justice for Mineworkers' Campaign meeting was quite remarkable. As the Campaign Group leaflet says:
"The evidence is clear... the network of activists that was thrown up by the strike still exists if in patches and without a voice. A handful of union members can begin to turn the tide at each branch and help rebuild the spirit of the union as a By BILL PETERS