Fighting for our future

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70 pits and 70,000 jobs at least are to go by 1988. Over 70 pits and 70,000 jobs at least are to go by 100,000 jobs will go by the year 2000.

Government and management are attacking on all fronts Basic wage rates are falling. Management threatens miners over the head of the union. Rich coal reserves ar sterilised or by-passed so that men can be sacked. Our villages and towns face decay and misery. They will be left without employment opportunities. Young people have no hope.

Yet, above and underground things could be different. Above ground:

Instead of starving the industry of funds, Government should pay subsidies per tonne at least at the level of European coal industries. The money that goes into redundancies and closures should go into production. The nuclear programme should be halted, instead of being used to crush the mining industry.

Imports should be stopped. Where coals, such as anthracite, are not presently available in great enough quantities, investment should be undertaken to produce them.

Exports should be increased. Europe is supposed to be self-sufficient in energy. Yet it imports over 70 million tonnes of coal, including large quantities from South Africa! The Government must support new ways of using coal. Many of these are already well advanced in other countries: - Combined Heat and Power uses waste heat from power stations to heat homes and industry. 20 large CHP schemes would use 10-15 million tonnes of coal a year.

With more Government aid, more factories and public sector establishments, such as hospitals, would convert their boilers back to coal. Industrial use of coal could rise to over 22 million tonnes per year.

Fluidised bed combustion and other new technologies can burn coal more efficiently and cleanly.

For the long run, we must begin now to develop liquefaction to produce liquid fuels and chemical feedstocks. We must develop gasification.

tonhall strike against rundown and closure in Scotland official.

The NEC agreed to mobilise all moral and financial support possible and ask miners' MPs to take part in the campaign.

• A new mood of militancy is evident in the union, with local A new mood of militancy is evident action taking place in every coalfield.

There is a long history of struggle in the coalfields. The National Strikes of 1972 and 1974 were just two examples of miners fighting for their industry and themselves and winning.

We must build the broadest possible base of support. Rail and steel, the other Triple Alliance industries, are under similar attack.

So is the rest of the trade union movement. We must help each other. We must also win our families and communities to fight for our, and their, future.

We must have coal for the country, not dole for the miners.

From the NUM pamphlet, 'COAL NOT DOLE'.

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Socialist Organiser no. 173. April 4 1984 Page 10

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