Palm the fifth generation of miners in my worked in the anthracite around Neath and Swansea. Swansea was more or less the headquarters of the anthracite. It was a strong non-conformist area where I come from.
Now the unemployment was not so bad in the anthracite. The other valleys of South tremendous unemployment of the miners were out of work. But in the anthracite" the picture somewhat different, in other words, it WON oasis the depression.
We had just lock-out of 1926 and from then to 1939 there was a struggle going on to restart the union in had been completely destroyed.
The scab union, the non-political union that the coal-owners permitted, was a consequence of the lock-out of 1926. In large parts of South Wales the South Wales Miners' Federation, the real miners' union, was not allowed to function. Taff Parkandare, Fern Hill, Rhondda, Emlyn Colliery down in West Wales — they banned the union and there were, largescale victimisations.
Poverty There was war on two fronts, you see. A war against poverty and a war for reestablishing the South Wales Miners' Federation in the pits.
And it was a struggle! men staying down in the pits by the hundreds to stop the scab union and. to demand that they reestablish the South Wales Miners' Federation in the pits. Nine Mile Point, hundreds stopped down, Parkandare, Taff Merthyr, Bedwas.
No one would go underground while some of the men were staying down, except that food would be taken down them. instances the coal owners threatened to prevent food going down -starve the men into submission.
Of course eventually they won out. They destroyed the scab union and they were abe to themselves as the union representing the men in the South Wales coalpits. But they were trying days, difficult days, days struggle the centred on the fight Means Test, the fight unemo ovment. reestablishing of the union.
The 'Means Test', meant that the income into the house was assessed and allocated to meet the number in Where the unemployed he was deprived entirely of his unemployment benefit. should be kept on the wages of the son - that was the Means Test. Bankers The Means Test was introduced • ne government led by Ramsay MacDonald in 1931, the turned traitor — Ramsay MacDonald the blue eyed boy of the Labour Party. He went over to the Tories in 1931 during the so-called crisis — it was a crisis of the system, the crisis of capitalism The bankers demanded that they cut the unemployment pay or wouldn't give any money. introduced the Means Test and cut the pay from 21s to 18s. The same thing is happening today, the same kind of policies are being adopted by this government cutting the security. during that period, and intie oather Rhondda valleys of South Wales there were largescale demonstrations against the Means Test. It wasn't difficult for demonstration by just going around have thousands the streets making the announcement with a bell calling the people out.
The unemployed and the people would come out. united demonstrations, by who went to Chapel and people who didn't go to Chapel. There was i, against the Means Test:
It was very adequately described Socialist Challenge. 3 April 1980 You had '30s:
and to exasist in every struggle was against novels the non-drinkers from YOU That was the '30s.
Now poverty in the different standard of life today. man that saw Rhondda -financial good, well-built they Wales in the '30s.
So they People who who could afford the rates. Food place in Aberdare, close, see was other They were people difficult: and occupation to anybody else. THIS weekend will see many young people from South Wales marching to the Wales TUC to demand action in defence of jobs. As they march many will be shouting: 'No return to the '30s'. DAI FRANCIS, a sponsor of the youth march, is former secretary of the South Wales Union of Mineworkers. He was a young man just starting life as a miner during the dreaded For Dai Francis the 1930s do not just mean poverty and depression, but a period of struggle on every front. The prime task was to rebuild strong union organisations, which had been smashed in the defeat of the General Strike in 1926.
Of course, it also meant a fight against the hated 'Means Test' which effectively cut unemployment pay. And it meant a struggle to keep up morale among the unemployed as they tried to become organised, Later on Dai Francis joined the Communist Party, of which he is still a member, because of the struggle against fascism in Spain. JUDE WOODWARD talked to Dai Francis at his home in Cardiff about life in the '30s and its lessons for us today.
"They were coming,' he said, over the mountains with bibles under Ineir arms and beer in their bellies.' That's how he described the unity.
Because Welsh people you know they go for extremes, don't they? You got And they came together. That was the meeting point. The Means Test.
They united against the Means Test.
there was poverty, abject '30s. It's a totally They couldn't afford to pay their rents and rates out of that money. We - in places like Aberdare and houses were left derelict, houses. People couldn't give them away because no one could pay the rates. That's the kind of poverty there was in South owned houses left them vacant when they moved away.
They couldn't find anyone to buy You'd see people by the market waiting for it to Ramsay they could get something to take away for nothing.
Rather than take food or vegetables from the stall back with them, the stall holders would sometimes give it commonplace Aberdare and Merthyr, even in places like Neath that weren't so badly hit.
Mining was and is still a very hazardous industry.
With all the improvements they have brought into the mines the miner is still engaged in an entirely different He's fighting nature every day, isn't he? something that it's not prepared to That's not a very pleasant job is it, in the bowels of the earth in darkness for seven hours every day?
But people weren't frightened -familiar, you're a product environment. I was only frightened DONATE THE I MacDonald in 1931. effectively cut unemployment pay and broke up families. once, when my lamp went out and I was in darkness. I was a bit frightened then, but I was only a boy then, 14 years old.
That was the usual age to start down the mine then, 14. At that age you'd leave school on the Friday and start work on the Monday, in the pit. And you were proud to wear moleskin trousers with the terrible stench to it.
We all wore moleskin because it was a tough garment, you had to have tough strong clothes to work in the mining industry. tough as them that worked there.
Nowadays the young miners go on apprenticeships and down the mines until they are 20 or so. This is because the needs of the situation have changed - they've got to have the skilled electrician, and the trained miner to look machines.
Love It's not that they love us, the Coal Board. It's not that they love these young people that they're giving them apprenticeships. It's in the interests of the industry, interests of the youngster.
In those days mining depended much more on muscle power. pick and shovel work. İt was driving Broad forward fashioned method of the curling box - filling the coal into a box and carrying it from the face into a tram. All that has been now.
It's all mechanised now. But that has its hazards, with all the noise and dust underground. perhaps more danger today than there was in the '30s.
In those days you worked 8 hours underground each day. Now its 7¼ Other things have You've got longer holidays, got rest days. We used to work a 6 day week, we worked Saturdays. Not even able to go out to play football. Death The coal the '30s. By the time nationalisation came about you only had about four or five private dominant force as far as ownership was concerned DAI FRANCIS: 'The future of Wales depends on its youth' Duffryn.
The clothes were as they don't go Local after the AS e • Rhondda not because ment so on.
It was Youth These done away There's youth changed too. After you've There's not wasn't nationalised in owners left. The now. the Pome force in society.
PD for short is what they called it in the '30s. And they said that it stood for Poverty and Death.
And they were ruthless in every was scramble profits. Profits came first, the same as it is today. The safety of the men was secondary importance Many people lost their lives in the mines, and the owners tried to cover it up I think these young people who are going on the march have got a good programme. In the "30s Lewis Jones could go out from his home in with a bell and in a matter of half an hour he could get hundreds of people round him, and speak to them about why unemploy.
happened in the capitalist system. Through lack of planning and young do something of the same thing by going about and having their meetings.
And unless the young people do it, well the older people won't do it for them. The future of Wales and every take initiative. They've got to awaken the conscience of the Welsh people about what ser it to her enliste tar when all Is said anc done, it's 40 years since the "30s... 50 years now. That's half a century ágo.
alive now; the people that led th hunger marches, that led • the fight against unemployment and to rebuild the unions after 1926.
The ones who are alive may have the enthusiasm but they are old and the body just won't do it. That's why e need the youth. It's up to th _They are
Challenge. for the IMG', which has recently been published in Socialist Second, our conference affirmed our characterisation of the SWP as a revolutionary organisation, and on the basis of this decided to propose to you that the political basis exists for us to construct a Revolution. *That our organisations fight for the fusion of Rebel and We are sure that many areas of joint work could be established within the framework of a fight to build a joint organisation. We are well aware of the fact that there are many differences
----- pull-quotes -----
TEST MEIS Rame Mac Donald in 1931d by