Northumberland and Durham Miners’ Strike (1844)

Fri Apr 05, 1844

Image

Image: A photograph of an early Durham miners’ Gala [libcom.org]

On this day in 1844, a mass meeting of 40,000 miners in Northumberland and Durham refused to renew contracts with their employers until their grievances had been met, going on the largest strike in United Kingdom history at that time.

In particular, the workers did not care for the “bond system”, monthly or annual contracts that stipulated labor conditions that they found unfavorable. The strike carried on for approximately 20 weeks, when workers, worn down by mass company town evictions and widespread poverty, returned to work on their employers’ unaltered terms. Union activists were blacklisted and could not find work at any pit in either county.