The Welsh coal strike of 1898 was an industrial dispute involving the colliers of South Wales and Monmouthshire. The strike began as an attempt by the colliers to remove the sliding scale, which determined their wage based on the price of coal. The strike quickly turned into a disastrous lockout which would last for six months and result in a failure for the colliers as the sliding scale stayed in place. The strike is seen as an important landmark in Welsh history as it saw the true adoption of trade unionism in the southern coalfield which had been slow to take hold before then. The South Wales Miners' Federation was the largest trade union to have originated from this dispute.
Read more about Welsh Coal Strike Of 1898: Reasons For The Action, Attempts To Resolve The Strike, Outcome of The Action, Bibliography
Famous quotes containing the words welsh, coal and/or strike:
“When one has been threatened with a great injustice, one accepts a smaller as a favour.”
—Jane Welsh Carlyle (1801–1866)
“Writing is to descend like a miner to the depths of the mine with a lamp on your forehead, a light whose dubious brightness falsifies everything, whose wick is in permanent danger of explosion, whose blinking illumination in the coal dust exhausts and corrodes your eyes.”
—Blaise Cendrars (1887–1961)
“And, once more let me tell you, it is indispensable to you that you strike a blow. I am powerless to help this.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)