The National Union of Scottish Mineworkers (NUSW) is a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, founded in 1894 as the Scottish Miners Federation. It joined 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, Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' ...

, 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 Alexander or Alex MacDonald may refer to: Politics * Alasdair Óg of Islay (died 1299), Lord of Islay and chief of Clann Domhnaill * Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross, or Alexander MacDonald (died 1449), Scottish nobleman * Alexander MacDonald, 5th ...

; 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 Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

in 1882, due to a

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

begun in the previous year. In 1886,

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, and was its first Leader of the Labour Party (UK), parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. ...

founded the Scottish Miners' National Federation. This was based on the Ayrshire Miners' Union, 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

, and this led to conflict. The SMF president,

Robert Smillie Robert Smillie (17 March 1857 – 16 February 1940) was a Scottish trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He was a leader of the coal miners, and played a central role in moving support from the miners away from the Liberal Party to the L ...

, agreed to follow English unions in accepting wage reductions, against the wishes of secretary

Chisholm Robertson Robert Chisholm Robertson (1861 - March 1930) was a Scottish political activist. Born in Limerigg, then in Stirlingshire, Robertson started working in a coal mine at the age of eight, but after the Mines Regulation Act 1872 prohibited children w ...

and leading activist

Shaw Maxwell James Shaw Maxwell (1855–1928), known as Shaw Maxwell, was a Scottish socialist activist. Born in Glasgow, as the son of Janet Maxwell, née Shaw, and the fruiterer and merchant James Taylor Maxwell, James Shaw Maxwell served his apprenticesh ...

.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 an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

. 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 CPGB ...

, 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:

:1896?:

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

:1917:

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

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

:1936:

Alexander Sloan Alexander Sloan (11 November 1879 – 16 November 1945) was Labour MP for South Ayrshire, in Scotland. Sloan worked as a coal miner in Ayrshire, and joined the Ayrshire Miners' Union. The union was affiliated to the National Union of Scottish Mi ...

:1940: James Cook :1945: William Pearson :1956: John Wood :1965:

Lawrence Daly Lawrence Daly (20 October 1924 – 23 May 2009) was a coal miner, trade unionist and political activist. Born in Fife as one of nine children, Daly's father Jimmy was a miner and a founder member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), ...

:1969:

Bill McLean William Malcolm McLean (28 February 1918 – 9 December 1996) was an Australian soldier and a state and Australia national rugby union team, national representative rugby union player who captained the Australia national rugby union team, Wa ...

:1977: Eric Clarke :1989: Nicky Wilson

Presidents

:1894:

:1918: John Robertson :1920: Hugh Murnin :1922:

: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 *An ...

:1942: Abe Moffat :1961:

Alex Moffat Alexander Everett Moffat (; born March 25, 1982) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2016 to 2022. In 2023, he made his Broadway debut in '' The Cottage''. Early ...

: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