National Association of Colliery Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers

NACODS
Full name National Association of Colliery Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers
Founded 1910
Members 600
Affiliation TUC, STUC, Labour Party[1]
Key people Ian Parker, general secretary
Office location Barnsley, England
Country United Kingdom
Website www.nacods.org.uk

The National Association of Colliery Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers (NACODS) represents colliery deputies and under-officials in the coal industry. NACODS was established as a national organisation in 1910. Prior to that date, the union existed as a federation of autonomous areas which were collectively known as the General Federation of Firemen's, Examiners' and Deputies Association of Great Britain. The present title of NACODS was adopted in 1947 when the coal industry was nationalised. The union currently has 610 members (down from 16,000 in 1984) and is based in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Its General Secretary is Ian Parker. It is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU).

Strikes

NACODS was much less willing to take industrial action than the NUM, which sometimes led to tension amongst workers in the mines. Militants in the NUM nicknamed NACODS the "National Association of Can-carriers, Obedient Dopes and Suckers".[2] There were some confrontations during the 1972 strike, but nothing compared to what came in the 1984-85 strike.[3]

In April 1984, a small majority of NACODS voted to strike in support of the NUM, but this fell short of the two-thirds majority that their constitution required for a national strike.[2] However, as there was no mine work being done in areas such as Kent, South Wales and Yorkshire, there was no work for many NACODS members to do.[3] When the number of strikebreakers increased in August, Merrick Spanton, the NCB personnel director, stated that he expected NACODS members to cross the picket lines to supervise their work.[3] As this would have meant crossing aggressive (and sometimes violent) lines, it brought another ballot for a national strike from NACODS.[3] For the first time in their history, NACODS voted to strike in September 1984 by a vote of 81%.[4] However, a deal negotiated by North Yorkshire NCB Director Michael Eaton persuaded NACODS to call off the strike action in return to changes to the review procedures for threatened collieries.[5] Ian MacGregor later admitted that if NACODS had gone ahead with a strike, a compromise would probably have been forced on the Coal Board. Files later made public showed that the Government had an informant inside the TUC, passing information about negotiations.[6]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.unionstogether.org.uk/pages/member_unions
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Strike: 358 Days that Shook the Nation. London: Sunday Times. p. 164. ISBN 0-340-38445-X.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Strike: 358 Days that Shook the Nation. London: Sunday Times. pp. 161–162. ISBN 0-340-38445-X.
  4. ↑ Adeney, Martin; Lloyd, John (1988). The Miners' Strike 1984-5: Loss without limit. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 196. ISBN 0-7102-1371-9.
  5. ↑ Adeney, Martin; Lloyd, John (1988). The Miners' Strike 1984-5: Loss without limit. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 197–200. ISBN 0-7102-1371-9.
  6. ↑ Evans, Rob; Hencke, David (16 May 2005). "Mole betrayed striking miners". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 6 March 2009.

External links

(Welsh)