The National Union of Scottish Mineworkers (NUSW) is 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 ( ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, founded in 1894 as the Scottish Miners Federation. It joined the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, and in 1914 changed its name to National Union of Scottish Mineworkers. It survives as the National Union of Mineworkers (Scotland Area). During the 1920s and 1930s the union was strongly affected by socialist and communist leadership as its members fought for better wages and living conditions. During World War II, they strongly supported government with increased production from the mines. In 1944 with the establishment of the National Union of Mineworkers, the NUSM became its "Scottish Area," with less autonomy. In the late 20th century, the mining industry declined dramatically in Scotland and across Great Britain, putting thousands of men out of work.

Forerunners

There had been several attempts to form a national union of miners in Scotland. The Scottish Coal and Iron Miners' Association, formed in 1855, organised a strike of 30,000 miners against a reduction in their wages, but the dispute was lost and the union dissolved soon after. The Scottish Coal and Iron-stone Miners' Protective Association was also formed in 1855 by various local unions, and was led by Alexander Macdonald; although this was also badly affected by the lost strike, it survived to reform as the Scottish Miners' Amalgamated Society in 1859, but achieved little as each union acted separately, and dissolved in 1863, by which time it had only 1,500 members. The Scottish Miners' Association was formed in 1872, with MacDonald as its secretary and treasurer. It worked closely with the

Miners' National Union The Miners' National Union (MNU) was a trade union which represented miners in Great Britain. History The union was founded in November 1863 at a five-day long conference at the People's Hall in Leeds. It was originally known as the National Ass ...

in England and Wales, and found immediate success, almost tripling pay while also reducing the output of the coal mines. However, a major strike from May to June 1874 used up all the union's reserve funds, and it thereafter achieved little. It went bankrupt in 1882, due to a strike begun in the previous year. In 1886, Keir Hardie founded the Scottish Miners' National Federation. This was based on the

Ayrshire Miners' Union The Ayrshire Miners' Union was a coal mining trade union based in Scotland. History The first Ayrshire Miners' Union was founded in 1880, with Keir Hardie as its organiser. The union supported a strike for higher wages over the winter of 1881/82, ...

, but initially had a total of 23,570 members in 26 districts. Hardie became its secretary and, through it newspaper, ''The Miner'', he campaigned for the nationalisation of the coal mines, a minimum wage and a five-day week. Although its membership dropped rapidly, forcing it to dissolve in 1888, several of its districts survived as independent unions.

History

The union was founded in 1894, as the Scottish Miners Federation (SMF). It initially brought together seven county unions,''The Labour Gazette'', vol.2 (1894), p.47 with others joining soon after. It initially had 35,900 members. The unions which constituted the early federation were: The union immediately organised a strike for better pay and conditions. It also joined the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, and this led to conflict. The SMF president, Robert Smillie, agreed to follow English unions in accepting wage reductions, against the wishes of secretary Chisholm Robertson and leading activist Shaw Maxwell.David Howell, ''British Workers and the Independent Labour Party 1888-1906'', pp.34-36 Although the early strike was lost, the federation continued, with membership reduced to under 16,000, and particularly few members in Lanarkshire. However, by the end of the decade it had regained members and, as coal prices rose, the union was able to win more of its demands. The SMF became known as a strong supporter of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

. By 1914, membership had risen to around 82,000, with half in Lanarkshire, one quarter in Fife and Kinross, an eighth in Ayrshire, and most of the remainder in Mid and East Lothian. The union adopted a new structure, with less autonomy for its affiliates, and was renamed the "National Union of Scottish Mineworkers". In 1929, a group of left-wingers, mostly linked with the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

, left to form the rival United Mineworkers of Scotland. This initially saw some success, but they rejoined in 1936. In 1944, the MFGB became the National Union of Mineworkers. The NUSW became its Scottish Area, with less autonomy than before. By 2014, the union had only 35 members remaining. It was dissolved in 2018.

Secretaries

:1894: Chisholm Robertson :1896?: Robert Brown :1917:

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

:1918: Robert Smith :1927: William Allan :1929: Robert Smith :1934:

:1936: Alexander Sloan :1940: James Cook :1945: William Pearson :1956: John Wood :1965: Lawrence Daly :1969:

Bill McLean William Malcolm McLean (28 February 1918 – 9 December 1996) was an Australian soldier and a state and national representative rugby union player who captained the Wallabies in five Test matches immediately after World War II. Pre-war rug ...

:1977: Eric Clarke :1989:

Nicky Wilson Nicky Wilson (born 5 July 1950) is a British trade unionist. Wilson began working as an electrician at Cardowan Colliery in 1967. He joined the Scottish Colliery Enginemen, Boilermen and Tradesmen Association (SCEBTA), a constituent of the Nation ...

Presidents

:1894: Robert Smillie :1918:

John Robertson John, Jon, or Jonathan Robertson may refer to: Politicians United Kingdom politicians * J. M. Robertson (John Mackinnon Robertson, 1856–1933), British journalist and Liberal MP for Tyneside 1906–1918 *John Robertson (Bothwell MP) (1867–1926) ...

:1920: Hugh Murnin :1922: Robert Smillie :1929: James Doonan :1932:

Andrew Clarke Andrew Clarke may refer to: *Andrew Clarke (British Army officer, born 1793) (1793–1847), Governor of Western Australia *Sir Andrew Clarke (British Army officer, born 1824) (1824–1902), Governor of the Straits Settlements, son of the above *And ...

:1942:

Abe Moffat Abraham Moffat (24 September 1896 – 28 March 1975) was a Scottish trade unionist and communist activist. He was elected repeatedly to high office in the trade unions and represented the union on government coal boards. He held major union offic ...

:1961:

Alex Moffat Alexander Everett Moffat (; born March 25, 1982) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live''. He started as a featured player in 2016 and became a main cast member in 2018. Moffat left ''SNL'' in 2022, aft ...

:1967:

Mick McGahey Michael McGahey (29 May 1925 – 30 January 1999) was a Scottish miners' leader and Communist. He had a distinctive gravelly voice, and described himself as "a product of my class and my movement". Early life His father, John McGahey, worked ...

:1987: George Bolton

References

{{National Union of Mineworkers (UK) Trade unions established in 1894 Trade unions disestablished in 2018 Mining trade unions National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain) 1894 establishments in Scotland Mining in Scotland Defunct trade unions of Scotland