UK COAL

[mineruk]

I see UK Coal are in trouble with a 20 million pound loss from two of they deep coal mines Daw Mill and Thorsby They are going to separate the 3 mines into separate companies. So if one get into trouble it wont affect the other two. At Daw Mill the workforce have voted against shift changes and work changes what the hell is up with them they are lucky to have a job that pays well.
Also the pension fund is in trouble.So it looks like UK Coal is in very deep trouble.

[ken]

This reminds me of an incident many years ago at Easington after I left. The mine was struggling, one cause being the long traveling times underground. The management wanting to change from the usual 5 day routine to one of four days of longer shifts the same total hours. This would have meant more productive hours at the face. This may have given the mine a few extra years of life. However the union said 'we fought for many years for a seven and a half hour shift and we are not giving it up now'. I don"t think they saw the advantage of a three day week-end. Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face.

[tygwyn]

I thought UK Coal had a much bigger deficit,more like £200m

Daw Mill is on the cards to shut early 2014,with the mens attitude to shift change,it will most likely close a lot earlier.

There have been Deputies from South Wales going there to cover weekend work,as their own will not work weekends,
The money they earned in the week,didnt warrant overtime.
Priced themselves out of work.

Dont think they will gain anyones sympathy.

[John]

It spells out a message to BC, use Polish miners.

[Wheldale]

Aug 15, 2012 15:41:03 GMT -5 ken said:

This reminds me of an incident many years ago at Easington after I left. The mine was struggling, one cause being the long traveling times underground. The management wanting to change from the usual 5 day routine to one of four days of longer shifts the same total hours. This would have meant more productive hours at the face. This may have given the mine a few extra years of life. However the union said 'we fought for many years for a seven and a half hour shift and we are not giving it up now'. I don"t think they saw the advantage of a three day week-end. Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face.

I remember a couple of mines (Margam and Thorne) we knocked back as the union refused to work different shift patterns / 7 day weeks etc. Shame, when I worked in South Africa they brought in a system of work, 7 days on, 1 off, 7 on, 1 off, 7 on, 5 off. The unions out there opposed it but when the miners started working it they loved it. 1 week off every month! Even saw alot of BMW's in the car parks paid for by the extra wages/ bonuses.

Maybe its because we have a different approach in the UK or dont like change that we dont like different working practices?

[tygwyn]

Dont know if its the UK s approach to work,as we worked weekends in most of the Private Smallmines i worked at in South Wales,i dare say it was the same in Scotland and England in Private Mines,the work was there if you wanted it,and the extra cash.

[John]

When I worked at British Gypsum, I was expected to work overtime, it was part of my contract.
When I started there I worked three weeks of days and one week of nights, I worked just about every weekend on day shifts plus worked around ten hours or more per day.
"Face move ups" it was over a weekend and we generally worked 12 hours on Saturday and on Sunday everyone stayed until the move was complete and running. That was about once per month.

At Boulby when I started it was an average 40 hours per week over a month, oddest shift system I have worked.
Monday Tuesday Days, Wed, Thurs...Afters, Fri, Sat, Sun Nights....Mon Tues rest days, I usually worked Tuesday as a double time day shift.
Wed, Thurs Days, Fri, Sat, Sun Afters.....Mon, Tues Nights.....Wed, Thurs rest days....Usually worked Thursday as a double time overtime shift......
Fri Sat, Sun Days..........The Saturday was a rest day and wasn't compulsary as it was the day which gave us the average 40 hours a week over the month, it was called ANDO, never didi find out it's meaning.

Mon Tues Afters, Wed, Thurs Nights...Fri Sat Sun rest days end of the month

Each shift was eight hours, 8-00am to 4-00pm, 4-00pm to 12-00am, 12-00am to 8-00am.
Conditions were, for elecs and fitters, if we had a breakdown at "Bait time" we got paid worked through "Bait", two tea breaks and one lunchbreak of 15 minutes and half hour mid shift.
I was expected to cover a breakdown between shifts until I either got it running, or relieved by the next shift electrician.

NSW Australia, you would be on one single shift, no rotations of shifts. Always started on "Dogwatch", (nights) and when a vacancy occurred on the next shift down, the "senior" elec could go down or stay on the shift.
Shifts were Days, Afters, Swingshift and Dogwatch, all 7 hour shifts "bank to bank" inclusive.
One ten minute break, one 30 minute lunch break and a ten minute late shift break.
Collieries are not usually 100% flameproof, 300feet outbye the working face is a hazardous area, and all returns.
We used to have "crib" rooms to eat out meals in, which was also the Deputy's meeting stations.... Each crib room had a pie heater and water boiler....."Tea urn" lights and telephone.
Angus Place had sledge mounted "crib rooms" three mounted tables and benches with the 440 volt transformer mounted one end to supply 240 volts to the lights, pie heater and tea urn.
Water was supplied as potable tested water on the fire fighting ranges.

Wongawilli, same shift system same agreements, crib rooms were just a couple of tables with benches, tea urn and pie heater were on a steel frame for safety, potable water was brought underground in galvanized steel 55 gallon drums.

Work practices were agreed at lodge level and agreed by the workforce and management, so one colliery might have in a Bord and Pillar panel, one miner driver, two shuttlecar drivers, two spare men, one acted as miner cable handler while cutting, the other cleaning spillage at the boot end of the belt, and all worked together bolting the roof and setting timber. One electrician and one fitter.

[John]

I must admit, I used to muck in with the crew, got the nickname of "Vent tube" at Wongawilli, our vent tubes were laid on the ground along the ribsides, on the way back from the ratio feeder to the miner turning left, until I had learned to drive the Joy SC10 cars, I'd wipe out the vent tubes...The fellers persevered with me, and I became an accomplished shuttlecar driver eventually.. ;D

Same learning to drive the shearer right to left, I hit a few cantilevers until eye hand coordination came together... ;D I hated the gate ends though....

[dazbt]

I reckon I've been lucky, never had to work days, afters, nights ............... with Anderson Strathclyde field staff we just worked Monday to Monday.

[John]

Aug 16, 2012 15:34:32 GMT -5 dazbt said:

I reckon I've been lucky, never had to work days, afters, nights ............... with Anderson Strathclyde field staff we just worked Monday to Monday.

I noticed that with Alex....

Jeeze I nearly ended up with Eichoff's, am I glad I was turned down..

[dazbt]

Aug 16, 2012 15:37:20 GMT -5 John said:

Aug 16, 2012 15:34:32 GMT -5 dazbt said:

I reckon I've been lucky, never had to work days, afters, nights ............... with Anderson Strathclyde field staff we just worked Monday to Monday.

I noticed that with Alex....

Jeeze I nearly ended up with Eichoff's, am I glad I was turned down..

occasionally it was even worse, we could end up working eight day weeks, Monday to Monday from the Sunday before the week started, depending on the time zone we were sent to, 20 hour shifts underground were common, 32 hour shifts not unknown, 4 hours between call outs and previous shifts finishing, 2 different pit callouts in a 12 hour period, 250 miles drive to a mine and straight underground for a shift or longer ............ and not a penny in overtime ............ brilliant job !!

[tygwyn]

Thats nowt,i worked so much overtime,the boys nicknamed me Spud,
They reckoned i spent more time underground than a potato,lol.

[John]

Aug 16, 2012 16:46:04 GMT -5 dazbt said:

Aug 16, 2012 15:37:20 GMT -5 John said:

I noticed that with Alex....

Jeeze I nearly ended up with Eichoff's, am I glad I was turned down..

occasionally it was even worse, we could end up working eight day weeks, Monday to Monday from the Sunday before the week started, depending on the time zone we were sent to, 20 hour shifts underground were common, 32 hour shifts not unknown, 4 hours between call outs and previous shifts finishing, 2 different pit callouts in a 12 hour period, 250 miles drive to a mine and straight underground for a shift or longer ............ and not a penny in overtime ............ brilliant job !!

Yes, Alex said there was no glory in the job and Andersons were on the tight side.
At the interview with Dr Eichoff and three other of their top blokes at a rather plush hotel in Sydney, I gathered they didn't like to pay a lot. He asked me what sort of remuneration I would expect, errr" nothing less than I'm earning now" He knew damned well what we were earning!!
"How do you feel about spending time in Germany at our factory for about three months" he asked....
"Fine by me"
"We would expect you to learn German too" he said.
"I'm fine there, my GF will teach me"

Yeah I saw the hours Alex put in, he'd left one of our other collieries and made his way to Angus Place where he spent the night with our shearer....

And Jim, longest shift I put in was 24 hours, never again, I was shattered.

[mineruk]

Same here tygwyn I used to work every weekend and overtime during the week even Christmas day.Even my kids said who is that strange man mum when i came home lol.

[John]

The only company that asked me to work Christmas day was CPL Boulby, I always refused, although they did offer volunteers triple time and a paid day off for about two hours of pump coverage.