South Yorkshire Miners' Association
Merged into | Yorkshire Miners' Association |
---|---|
Founded | 1 April 1858 |
Dissolved | 1 July 1881 |
Headquarters | 2 Huddersfield Road, Barnsley |
Location |
|
Affiliations | Miners' National Union |
The South Yorkshire Miners' Association (SYMA) was an early British
The union was founded in 1858 at the White Bear Inn in
The union took part in national conferences of miners in
In 1864, miners at the Oaks went on strike, asking for a month's advance of wages. This was without the sanction of the union and they did not initially receive any union benefits. However, many other colliery owners feared that the demand would spread, and pre-empted this by
The SYMA was reorganised under the new leadership of Normansell, introducing standard procedures across all branches, and successfully promoting the election of checkweighmen across the district. With his assistant
In 1860, miners at Brightside in Sheffield formed a union and, in November, joined the SYMA, as its first branch in the city. However, they were then victimised by their employer and the branch collapsed. It was only re-established in 1866, when miners in Tinsley also joined, the union prioritising bringing their working conditions up to the standards enjoyed in the rest of the district. This was fiercely resisted by some mineowners, and led to an eighteen-month strike in 1869/70 which spread across the district, with the union successful at some pits but entirely defeated at others.[1]
The union long co-operated with the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Miners' Association, but this was largely defeated by 1868. As a result, the SYMA began building up branches in north Derbyshire. However, membership remained low in the district, and the SYMA leadership had little time to deal with disputes there, so little activity took place. In 1880, lodges in the county split away to form the new Derbyshire Miners' Association.[1]
Wages increased rapidly during the early 1870s, but from 1874 coal prices began falling, and wages were cut. Normansell was criticised by some miners for not doing more to oppose this, and resigned in 1875 in protest. He was replaced by John Frith, who invested much of the SYMA's capital in the Shirland Colliery, but lost this when the pit went into liquidation in 1877. Soon after, most of its members in Derbyshire left to form the Derbyshire Miners' Association. The SYMA began negotiating a merger with the West Yorkshire Miners' Association; this was completed in 1881, forming the new Yorkshire Miners' Association.[3]
Secretaries
- 1858: Richard Mitchell
- 1864: John Normansell
- 1875: John Frith