When can you pass a picket line?

[Wheldale]

When a pit was on strike when could you pass a picket line? For example if there was a underground fire (as at Fryston in the 84/85 strike) would the union permit members to pass through a picket line or was it a no no?

[John]

Feb 27, 2012 17:19:47 GMT -5 Wheldale said:

When a pit was on strike when could you pass a picket line? For example if there was a underground fire (as at Fryston in the 84/85 strike) would the union permit members to pass through a picket line or was it a no no?

As it's an emergency, I doubt the NUM would stop volunteers assisting the Mines Rescue people, everything would be under the HM Inspectorate.

I can't speak for the NUM, but when I worked in Australia, when we were on strike, if there was a problem at a colliery, Management would contact the local Miners Federation Office of the problem, they would decide how urgent it was and select a team of miners from the Rosta for that pit, including an electrician and fitter.
Some pits had an exemption to cut coal to prevent faces closing up.....After all, we all wanted a job to go back to after the dispute was settled.
Incidently, we didn't have a picket line, down under, when we were on strike, nobody broke the strike, to do so placed your life on the line... They didn't kid to it down there!!.

I'd imagine the NUM had some sort of plan to allow pits with problems to have men available to work on the problems.

[philford734]

During the strike in the 1980s I was at a small private mine. We where approached by the HMI and the Mines Rescue Service to let the Rescue teams from the area come to us to keep up with there underground training. We had six teams come, they found our operation a big change from the NCB pits. This training made sure that when the return to work came all the rescue teams where up to date with there training and available for call out. It was a very tactful way of saving any problems with picket lines.

[Sam from Kent]

The NUM always allowed safety work to be carried out, we wanted a pit to go back to!!!!!!

[erichall]

You can, if so minded, cross any picket line at any time! What we tend to forget is that a picket line is simply a group of people who are on strike and are simply ASKING that you respect their views.
With regard to the picket lines in the 84/85 strike, this was the NUM who provided the pickets. As members of the Management union - BACM,- Colliery Managers , Undermanagers, etc. were not even allowed to strike, having to do their own jobs under the Act, whatever their views of the strike. Their job was simply the preservation of the mine. Members of BACM were issued with their own identification cards, which they were prepared to display to any pickets. They were also instructed to treat any pickets with respect, slow down and acknowledge the presence of pickets. In most cases this often involved having a chat and a fag with the pickets who realised that the job they were doing was to simply ensure that, when the strike eventually finished, there would be a job to return to. Don't forget that most of the members of BACM lived and worked alongside most of the men, knew and respected them.
All the NUM personnel I remember were only too grateful for any rescue or emergency to be respected. I know of some NUM personnel who actually crossed a picket line to assist in fighting an underground fire caused by the dreaded 'spontaneous combustion' then returned to the picket line.

[John]

We never picketed in Australian coal industry, a national coal strike was just that, nobody dare break the strike...Aussies don't like scabs....
All collieries were closed with gates locked by Management during the "big strike" we had in the early 80's.
It was agreed that safety labour be supplied as requested for any colliery that needed labour on safety grounds. All requests had to go through the local Miners Federation offices to be approved.
I was on the roster for electricians and did do a couple of shifts covering the colliery while power was on underground during one strike we had.
If I recall correctly, our longwall was powered up for a couple of shears too, as it was converging pretty bad. There was a lot of argument against it, but common sense prevailed, we needed a job to return too after the strike.