THE MINERS’ STRIKE of 1972 was the first time miners had staged a national stoppage since 1926. Its outcome has been labelled “the miners’ greatest victory.”

In 1971 the NUM submitted a pay claim of between £5 and £9 per week (dependent on grade) and the National Coal Board replied with an offer of £1.60 — which reflected the Tory government’s strategy of wage restraint. A national ballot of the miners voted for strike action which started on January 9, 1972.

It was to become an important landmark in working-class history. A key event of the dispute and the one which led to its victorious outcome was the Battle of Saltley Gate which occurred 50 years ago today.

The strike was about to enter its second month when the NUM Midlands Area, who had placed pickets on the gates of the Saltley coke depot, became aware of a number of lorries, approximately 800 a day, queueing up to move the country’s last 100,000 tonnes of stockpiled coke.

Exceptions had been allowed by the pickets for priority cases such as hospitals, schools and old people’s homes but the increased traffic obviously wasn’t being used for such purposes. In fact, scab lorry drivers were earning a fortune: £50 to £60 per day plus £50 per load delivered. The wages reflected their strike-breaking antics, sneaking it out to industry. More pickets were needed and the call went out to striking miners from Yorkshire and South Wales whose arrival bolstered the Midlands area pickets.

The week commencing Monday February 7 saw workers throughout the large West Midlands engineering plants support the miners. Workers from across Birmingham showed solidarity action: SU Carburettors had a one-day strike, building workers joined the picket from the MacAlpine and Bryant’s building sites.

On Tuesday February 8 more West Midlands workers came out on strike in support. On Wednesday pleas were made to David Beavis, chairman of the West Midlands Gas Board to close the besieged coke depot. These failed. Thursday brought the solidarity which ultimately not only closed the gates of the depot but engraved Saltley into the real history of working people in Britain.  

Thousands of workers throughout the West Midlands walked out of their respective jobs and marched to the picket at Saltley. The local paper described “10,000 pickets” each marching in solidarity with the miners.

Frank Watters, Morning Star correspondent and secretary of the Birmingham Communist Party, described the scene: “Nothing could be seen but thousands of human beings — workers from all walks of life. A South Wales miner from Fernhill Colliery recalled, ‘I seen them all marching in and blocked the whole area completely... that’s my finest feeling of Saltley because my spirits rose a mile. I thought: we’ve got em now.’ This human sea was too strong to hold back.”

At 10.45am the gates of the Saltley coke depot were resoundingly shut and locked. On that same day power cuts hit the country. On February 15 the Wilberforce inquiry was set up in an attempt to settle the dispute — its proposals gave pay rises of £4.50 to £6 per week — so on February 25 the miners voted to call off the strike.

The strike was a victory, it had broken government pay restraint. It had improved miners’ wages, restored miners’ confidence and had seen incredible solidarity action. It was to be a mere two years before the miners struck again — and won again.

Today the mines have gone but the spirit of working-class solidarity that closed the gates at Saltley should be the lesson we inherit to move us towards a better society.

Whilst remembering the events 50 years ago at Saltley we should remember the power we have when we stand together and support each other.

NUM archivist Paul Darlow assisted in the writing of this piece.