Coal Board extends bonus lure deadline

Press, 15 November 1984, Page 6

Coal Board extends bonus lure deadline

NZPA-PA London

Pits in north Derbyshire, in the north of England, were the centre of attention yesterday after the British Coal Board’s area chief extended the miner’s Christmas bonanza deadline. The area director, Mr Ken Moses,, has told his 10,500 pitmen that they can still qualify for a £l4OO ($3584) payout, with holiday money and bonuses, if they return to work any time next week. It had been assumed that striking miners had to return by Monday to be eligible for all the money. But the Coal Board said that it was up to Mr Moses how he adopted the scheme in his own area, and confirmed

that ’November 19 was not the final deadline for holiday pay by Christmas. The Coal Board said that 920 miners had returned to work, the highest Tuesday figure since the dispute started eight months ago. The board said 2700 had gone back in the last two days. It said more than 56,000 of the 181,000 miners had ended their walkout and it hoped the accelerated return to work would lead to the collapse of the strike. The figures brought renewed calls for a union ballot, and pressure is building on the miners’ union executive, which will meet in Sheffield today. Mr Jack Jones, the Leicestershire leader of the

National Union of Mine Workers and a national executive member, repeated his backing for a ballot and suggested that the leadership should modify its negotiating approach. Mr Arthur Scargill, the union president, again accused the Coal Board of “cooking its figures” for the return to work.

He said some mines had joined the strike and that the Coal Board figures included those on the sick list.

But the Coal Board said that the return to work was growing out of despair among strikers . after the breakdown of peace talks last month, and had been encouraged by the offer of a Christmas bonus.

The worst clashes -yesterday were at Frickley colliery, in the militant Yorkshire coalfields. More than 40 police were hurt by a barrage of rocks and bricks from 600 pickets who set up barricades to try to stop four men going back to work — the first to break their ranks.

Catholic bishops from England and Wales joined in a plea for an end to the violence and a return to the negotiating table. “A fight to the finish can only bring disaster to all concerned,” they said. On Tuesday the Prime Minister of Britain, Mrs Margaret Thatcher, gave a warning that her Government might bring in new laws to curb, the violence.