A Fife couple who were forced to burn shoes to keep warm during a bitter and divisive 1984 miners’ strike have called for compensation for all those wrongly convicted at the time.
John and Cathy Mitchell from Kirkcaldy say they were left with no money after John was sacked for taking part in the Frances Colliery picket 38 years ago.
It meant John missed out on a £26,000 redundancy and, despite a new bill designed to pardon those involved, they say they are still not entitled to financial compensation.
Speaking of the hardships they endured at the time, Cathy said: “It was really hard and we had no coal, nothing to heat the home, so I burnt all his shoes to get a heat.
“It was a nightmare.
“I think the men that got sacked, and they’re getting pardoned, are entitled to that money that they’ve lost.”
Mental anguish for John and others
The dispute would rage on for a year into 1985 and hundreds of miners never received a pension despite having worked at the colliery for decades.
The situation saw many lose their jobs or marriages with some even reportedly committing suicide.
John was one of those convicted of obstruction, sacked and blacklisted on October 2 1984.
He was fined £50 and the blacklisting meant he was unable to find another employer after leaving the firm.
Recalling the day he was arrested, John says the picket line was “massive” and there was concern vehicles were being blocked.
He said: “The local inspector asked me to go up to the top of the road and ask them to stand off the road to let the traffic by.
“Just as I stood there, the police came marching up like soldiers.
“The next thing I heard was ‘take prisoners’ and I was the first one pulled out.
“I was taken to court and at court, the police inspector couldn’t recall speaking to me.”
Bill ‘does not go far enough’ critics claim
In 2020, the Scottish Government announced all the men convicted of offences relating to the strike were to be pardoned in a proposed bill.
However, Richard Leonard, Scottish Labour MSP for Central Scotland, is campaigning for the bill to include a compensation scheme.
Mr Leonard, who is also calling for the pardon to be extended to include arrests in communities as well as at picket lines, said: “The miners’ pardon is long overdue, but the SNP government’s proposals do not go far enough.
“As well as pardoning the miners, we should compensate them or their surviving families.
“The whole weight of the state was thrown at defeating the striking miners, we should be using the whole weight of the state to put right the injustice they suffered.”
Scottish Government recognises ‘hardship’
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “The Scottish Government recognises that many miners and their families suffered terrible hardship as a result of taking part in the strike.
“Miners who took part in the strike did so to protect their jobs, their way of life, and their communities. It was the most bitter industrial dispute in living memory.
“By offering a pardon, the Scottish Government is doing what it can within its powers to restore dignity to miners convicted in relation to the strike. However, Employment and Industrial Relations are reserved to Westminster.
“We will continue to press the UK Government for a UK-wide public inquiry which could also include the payment of compensation.”
