ALMOST 2,500 day shift miners employed at six central Scotland collieries came out on strike yesterday, an indication of their dissatisfaction with the recent wage increase awards made to lower-paid colliery workers by the National Tribunal.
Three Ayrshire pits were also involved. The total daily output of the pits affected by the strike is about 4,500 tons. After pithead meetings in the morning the men decided not to work. Oncost workers complained the award of £3,500,000 made by the tribunal would fall far short of the demands first made by the lower paid workers. It is only a month since 26 Scottish collieries were involved in a stoppage which resulted in 7,000 men going on strike and a subsequent loss of 50,000 tons of coal. “Profound dissatisfaction” with the recent award of the National Tribunal on the mineworkers’ claim was expressed at a conference of the Union in Edinburgh yesterday.
• archive.scotsman.com