The 1893 miners' strike was a major industrial action affecting many areas of Great Britain. The strike involved about 300,000 coal miners in the Federated District, making it larger than any previous strike in the UK. This consisted of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Cannock Chase and Shropshire, Nottinghamshire, South Derbyshire and Leicestershire, Forest of Dean, Radstock, Bristol, Warwickshire, North Wales, Stirlingshire and Monmouth. All these areas had active unions, which were affiliated to the recently founded

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, Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' ...

(MFGB). The price of coal had fallen since the start of the 1890s, and in the hope of reducing surplus coal stocks, the MFGB instructed all its members in the Federated District to take a week's holiday, starting on 12 March 1892. This was almost universally observed, despite the protests of many mine owners, who feared that it would worsen their individual financial position, and perhaps also that it would strengthen the position of the MFGB. At the same time, mine owners in

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

proposed a 10% reduction in wages, and when the

Durham Miners' Association The Durham Miners' Association (DMA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1869 and its membership quickly rose to 4,000, but within a year had fallen back to 2,000. In December 1870, William Crawford beca ...

's (DMA) members voted strongly to reject this, they were locked out. In Durham, the union was defeated, miners returning to work after 12 weeks with their wages cut as originally proposed, and this experience inspired the DMA to affiliate to the MFGB. The Federated District unions maintained their levels of pay until 30 June 1893, when mine owners in the district collectively announced a 25% cut in wages. This was strongly opposed by the MFGB. At the end of July, unionised miners in most pits in the district were locked out, with just a few

strikebreaker A strikebreaker (sometimes pejoratively called a scab, blackleg, bootlicker, blackguard or knobstick) is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers may be current employees ( union members or not), or new hires to keep the orga ...

s continuing to work. At some pits, no notice of a proposed reduction had been given, and miners instead initiated strike action themselves, although there were a handful of these pits where work continued. However, the miners in Durham, Northumberland and Monmouthshire did not take part in the co-ordinated action, and their unions resigned or were expelled from the MFGB. During August, there was a stand-off, but at the start of September, there were widespread clashes between striking miners and strikebreakers in Yorkshire. Troops were deployed to the areas where violence had occurred, and the

Yorkshire Miners' Association The Yorkshire Miners' Association was a British trade union. It is now an integral part of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). History The union was founded in 1881 with the merger of the South Yorkshire Miners' Association, and the ...

called for peace. On 7 September, two miners were killed by troops in

Featherstone Featherstone is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, two miles south-west of Pontefract. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in 2011 ...

, in what became known as the "Featherstone Massacre". The MFGB accepted the gradual return to work among miners who were able to do so at their old pay rate, and by the end of October, the number of locked out workers was down to 87,000. The mine owners reduced their demand to a 15% wage reduction, which was considered at a conference held in Derby on 3 and 4 November, chaired by A. J. Mundella. The MFGB refused this offer, maintaining a demand for no cuts in wages, and for the formation of a board of conciliation to consider future disputes. A second conference was organised, chaired by

Lord Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of h ...

, which agreed a Board of Conciliation and a return to work with no cut in wages, and for no cuts to take place before 1 February 1894. Having won their demands, on 17 November, the miners returned to work. By February 1894, the price of coal had risen, and so the two sides were able in July to agree to a 10% pay cut, with no further reductions.

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