ndustrial relations, 1970-74

Heath’s Industrial Relations Act (1971)

Aims

• Introduced measures similar to Barbara Castle’s In Place of Strife.

• Sought to:

• Restrict unofficial strikes

• Require strike ballots

• Create a National Industrial Relations Court (NIRC)

• Allow legal penalties for illegal strikes

Why It Failed

• TUC refused to cooperate; threatened to expel any union that complied.

• Government hesitated to enforce penalties (e.g., jailing shop stewards).

• Rising inflation made wage restraint politically impossible.

• The miners became the decisive challenge.

The Miners’ Strike (1972)

Background

• Coal industry shrinking: 400+ pits closed, 420,000 miners made redundant (1960s).

• NUM kept pits open by accepting low wage claims.

• By late 1960s miners earned 3% less than manufacturing workers.

• Rising living standards elsewhere made miners feel excluded from national prosperity.

• Inflation eroded wages → militancy increased.

Escalation

• 1970: NUM demanded 33% pay rise; strike ballot failed (needed ⅔ majority).

• Unofficial strikes spread across north England and south Wales.

• Heath imposed an 8% pay limit.

• NUM changed rules (55% needed for strike) → second ballot passed.

• January 1972: national strike began.

Flying Pickets

• Led by Arthur Scargill (Barnsley Area Strike Committee).

• Used 1,000 flying pickets to blockade power stations and coal depots.

• Electricity output fell to 25%.

• 40,000 miners picketed 500 sites nationwide.

Government Weakness

• Unlike Baldwin in 1926, Heath had not prepared for a major strike.

• No volunteer force like the 1926 OMS.

• When Scargill shut down Saltley coke depot, the government capitulated.

• Miners won a 27% pay rise.

The Second Miners’ Strike (1973–74)

Context

• 1973 oil crisis made Britain dependent on coal.

• NUM demanded 35% pay rise.

• Coal shortages → electricity production declined.

Government Response

• Declared a state of emergency.

• Introduced the three‑day week (Jan–Mar 1974):

• Businesses received electricity only 3 days per week

• Workers stayed home the rest of the time

‘Who Governs Britain?’ Election

• Heath called a February 1974 election asking voters to back him against the unions.

• Conservatives lost → public had no confidence in Heath’s ability to manage unions

Why Industrial Relations Collapsed Under Heath

• Inflation made wage restraint impossible.

• Industrial Relations Act unenforceable without TUC cooperation.

• NUM was highly organised, militant, and strategically effective.

• Government unprepared for large‑scale industrial action.

• Oil crisis magnified union leverage.

• Public saw Heath as weak and indecisive.