The Fourth Statistical Account of East Lothian

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From March To March: The Miners' Strike of 1984-1985

Rab Amos

The Monktonhall dispute was over two factors. The first was the dismissal of 63 miners for supposedly carrying out a 'ca canny' and, secondly, the stopping and removal of development equipment from the pit. The strike lasted for eight weeks. During this strike, a 24-hour stoppage of the Scottish coalfield was achieved on the 17th October 1983 through pithead meetings and votes.

The NCB continued to employ successful divisionary tactics; for example, McGregor visited Bilston Glen in October 1983, during the same period that their sister pit, Monktonhall, was out on strike. A delegation from Monktonhall (Rab Amos, John Glen, Alex Bennett) met McGregor and presented the relevant issues surrounding the Monktonhall strike; McGregor's response was that Monktonhall was a second division pit, and he was visiting the 'Jewel in the Crown'.

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