Why I choose not to strike

Today we hear from someone who has made the difficult choice not to strike. Everyone who chooses not to strike has a different story, and many will have thought very hard about this decision. (For others, the choice is easy - they can't afford to strike.) This story has its roots in the history of industrial disputes in the UK, and gives an insight into how that history still affects us today.

They needed police escorts to get to work

It is a difficult decision to strike but it is equally difficult to choose to cross a picket line. Many of the issues raised in the current strike concern me greatly, but for personal reasons, I choose to continue to teach.  

I grew up in a then mining community in the East Midlands. My area is a small one - the Leicestershire & South Derbyshire coalfield, which is centred on Ashby de la Zouch, the small town which I'm from. Mining, both coal and clay, goes back to the 15th century and generations of my family, like many, made their living from it. 

In the early 20th century when my Great Grandfather Harold started work, pay and conditions were poor. Harold was a local legend - a footballer - but football didn't pay as much then so a trial and an offer from Fulham didn't come to anything as London doesn't have mines. By May 1926, the miners were on strike, along with workers from other Unions. The General Strike lasted from 3rd-12th May, but miners remained out until November before having to return to work to feed themselves and their families. However, many remained unemployed into the 1930s and those like Harold who still had jobs, were forced to accept longer hours & lower wages. 

Along with other families on the Crescent in Moira, my great grandparents lived in extreme poverty as a result; Harold and Hannah sold everything they could so that they could eat. Harold's football medals went, as did the Meccano set they had scrimped and saved to buy for my Grandad, Christopher, and his brother, Peter. They scavenged for coal on the slag heaps to be able to heat their small home. Though he passed the 11 plus, my Grandad didn't stay on at school; Hannah & Harold couldn't afford to buy the uniform. They almost certainly needed him to work to support the family. He left school at 14 and worked as a carpenter & carpet fitter. He had a talent for engineering: that Meccano set and education could have gone a long way. 

Fast forward to my childhood and the 1980s, when yet more strikes affected the mines. South Derbyshire miners voted to work but were targeted by fly-pickets. They needed police escorts to get to work. The strike's legacy was divided communities and arguably, continuing social inequality; many former mining communities are amongst the poorest in the UK. 

So I cross the picket line. My story isn't unique - there will be many who have stories like mine and who instead choose to strike. I respect that decision, but for me, for these particular issues, withdrawing teaching is something I choose not to do. I'd like to be more politically active - I'm a member of the Liberal Democrats but at the moment don't have time to actively campaign - so instead I take individual action where I can to support meaningful political dialogue and access to education, particularly in the Arts. 

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You can find out more about the fly pickets at Rawdon Colliery, Moira, and what it was like to cross the picket line: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-miners-strike-in-south-derbyshire-1984-online