The North Wales Miners' Association was a
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
representing
coal miner
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...
s in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
.
History
The origins of the union lay in the North Wales District Meeting, a monthly meeting in
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
of representatives of workers from about sixteen collieries. In November 1889, the representatives decided to form the North Wales Miners' Federation, and by mid-1890 this included branches at 25 collieries, with a total of 7,793 members. It was noted that about 6,000 of these were members of the
Miners' Federation of Great Britain
The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in Engla ...
(MFGB), and soon the whole organisation affiliated. In 1891, the union elected Ioan Williams as its full-time agent.
In 1894, the
North Wales Quarrymen's Union
The North Wales Quarrymen's Union (NWQU) was a trade union in the United Kingdom.
History
The union was founded on 27 April 1874 at the Queen's Hotel, Caernarfon after a month of discussions between quarrymen from Dinorwic and other supporters ...
affiliated to the association, increasing its membership by 13,000, although they soon left again. In 1900, the union decided to increase its membership dues, and this led a group of miners in
Rhosllanerchrugog
RhosllanerchrugogDavies, Jenkins and Baines (eds) ''The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales'', 2008, p.752 (also spelled Rhosllannerchrugog, or simply Rhos) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It lies within the histor ...
and
Ruabon
Ruabon ( cy, Rhiwabon ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The name comes from ''Rhiw Fabon'', ''rhiw'' being the Welsh word for "slope" or "hillside" and ''Fabon'' being a mutation from St Mabon, the original church ...
, led by Thomas Hughes, to break away as the Rhos Miners' Union. The remainder of the union adopted the name Denbighshire and Flintshire Miners' Federation. The Ruabon miners rejoined the following year, and this led the remaining members of the Rhos Miners' Union to dissolve the organisation and rejoin the North Wales Miners.
In 1903, the union was renamed as the "North Wales Miners' Association", while in 1935 it became the North Wales and Border Counties Mineworkers' Association.
[National Union of Mineworkers (North Wales Area) MSS]
, ''Archives Wales'' Never a large organisation – the Association had only 7,500 members in 1945 - from about 1900, its General Secretary also served as its Agent, and even that post was left vacant from 1932 until 1934.
Ted Jones was appointed shortly before the
Gresford disaster
The Gresford disaster occurred on 22 September 1934 at Gresford Colliery, near Wrexham, Denbighshire, when an explosion and underground fire killed 266 men. Gresford is one of Britain's worst coal mining disasters: a controversial inquiry into ...
.
In 1945, the MFGB became the
National Union of Mineworkers, and the Association became its North Wales Area, with less autonomy than before.
By the time of the
1984–85 strike, the region had only two pits operating. Its then Secretary, Ted McKay, opposed the strike, but the Bersham Colliery was heavily picketed by miners from other areas and did not work until November 1984.
Former NUM officer's fears in 1984/85 miners' strike
, ''BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
'', 5 March 2010
The Area was dissolved in 2011.
Leadership
Secretaries
:1889: Richard Jones
:1892: I. L. Thomas
:1893: S. Roberts
:1893: Edward Hughes
:1925: Hugh Hughes
:1934: Ted Jones
:1961: Jos Ellis
:1975: Ted McKay
:1987: Les Kelly
:2005: Rosemarie Williams
Presidents
:1889: David Griffiths
:1891: William Davies
:1892: George Rowley
:1894: Thomas Hughes
:1894: George Rowley
:1896: Thomas Hughes
:1897: Robert Jones
:1899: George Rowley
:1902: John Williams
:1905: Tom Hughes
:1913: Thomas Rowland
References
Bibliography
* Keith Gildart, ''North Wales Miners: A Fragile Unity, 1945–1996''
* Ted McKay, ''Edward Hughes and the History of Coal Mining in North Wales''
{{National Union of Mineworkers (UK)
Trade unions established in 1891
Mining trade unions
National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)
Coal mining in Wales
1891 establishments in Wales
Trade unions in Wales