{"id":7204,"date":"2015-12-21T14:11:26","date_gmt":"2015-12-21T14:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=7204"},"modified":"2015-12-21T14:44:46","modified_gmt":"2015-12-21T14:44:46","slug":"holding-back-the-tears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=7204","title":{"rendered":"Holding back the tears"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s last deep pit coal miners held back their tears, as they emerged from their historic final shift underground to face the glare of the media at Yorkshire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Kellingley Colliery on Friday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The decision to close the pit in 2013 was followed by slew of attempts to save it, including a search for new investors, a proposed workforce buyout and an application for EU state aid.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Despite the efforts, the decision was made to close Kellingley, even though there are over 30 years of reserves left.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The three coal-fired power plants within eye-shot of the colliery, and others around the country, are now reliant on cheap foreign imports from as far away as Columbia and China \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a position that the miners and Unite say is untenable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For George Lamb, Friday marked the last day of a 43 year career spent at the pit. Like the 450 other miners losing their jobs, his sadness at the loss of a way of life was mixed with anger at the senselessness of the decision.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Disaster for UK <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s disgusting that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re letting it close. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a disaster for the country. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just importing coal we already have. And what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing by importing coal is subsidising another country\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s workforce and abandoning our own. That can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be right,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Mr Lamb.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As for the high CO2 emissions that come from coal, Mr Lamb pointed to the cancellation of the carbon capture project at the nearby Drax power station in September, because of government cuts to renewable energy subsidies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Even without the technology Drax will continue to burn 4m tons of coal a year for the next 10 years \u00e2\u20ac\u201c coal that requires even more CO2 emitting fossil fuels to be burnt so it can be transported across the globe.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bDrax isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t closing for another 10 years and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s at least 30 years of coal at this pit,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Mr Lamb. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey could have kept this pit open to supply Drax.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs regards climate change they could invest in carbon capture the same as they are doing in Germany and other countries,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI think the Tories have got what they always wanted. From 1979 when Thatcher got in, up to now.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Clocked off <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Emotions were running high as the miners clocked off for the final time in the lobby of the colliery.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Generations of deep pit mining were coming to an end, as were the often decades long working relationships of men who kept each other safe in dark and dangerous conditions miles underground. There was horse play and high-jinks among the men, but their loss and the looming of an uncertain future hung heavy in the air.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been here since I was 17 and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m 49 now. My father and all my family\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worked down pit. My brother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pit shut and now he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s working in a warehouse. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to do. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just awful,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Mark Bainbridge said, as he stored equipment away in the lamp room for the very last time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Employment prospects for many of the miners will be limited. Their average age is 51 and with the Eggborough power station facing a stand-by only role in case of black outs and the Ferrybridge power station due to close in March, competition for jobs in the region is increasing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adding to the pressure is the erosion of the miners\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 pensions and an ungenerous 12 week redundancy package, that is actually worse than the one offered under Thatcher.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let down<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been treated horribly. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been let down, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s absolutely disgusting what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happened to these lads\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Kellingley National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) branch secretary, Keith Poulson.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With Kellingley closed, Mr Poulson became the last NUM deep mine branch secretary, although he thinks this will have to change in the future if Britain is to have a functioning energy network.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a legacy I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to be burdened with. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to think I am the last branch secretary, but I am \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as far as history goes today. I hope somebody is going to reverse that, because in the near future we are still going to want coal,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Mr Poulson said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a position supported by Unite, who point out that ministers are more interested in cutting treasury budgets than shoring up Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s future energy security.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At present, 31 percent of the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s electricity supply comes from coal and by next year that number is expected to be reduced a third. This is despite slim power reserves – especially during cold weather \u00e2\u20ac\u0098snaps\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 – and a dangerous reliance on an increasingly insecure global energy market.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Britain should not abandon its huge domestic coal reserves, said Unite national officer for the coal sector, John Allott.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe jettisoned \u00c2\u01411bn carbon capture and storage (CCS) competition by chancellor George Osborne last month would have given coal a real future, while keeping carbon emissions within EU limits. This technology is already used effectively in Canada and Sweden,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Mr Allott explained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bEnergy and climate change secretary, Amber Rudd, does not seem to have a grip of her portfolio and appears to be rudderless under the weight of treasury pressure. Coal is a victim \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as are the dedicated workers at Kellingley \u00e2\u20ac\u201c of this policy of drift, cutbacks and short-sightedness.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Although deep pit mining is off the books for the foreseeable future, Unite is fighting to keep UK surface coal mining alive, so that with the use of CCS Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s energy security can be maintained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pic of last miners by Mark Pinder<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s last deep pit coal miners held back their tears, as they emerged from their historic final shift underground to face the glare of the media at Yorkshire\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Kellingley Colliery on Friday.   The decision to close the pit in 2013 was followed by slew of attempts to save it, including a search for new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7206,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[383,54,457],"wps_subtitle":"Supreme sadness as UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s last deep pit closes","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7204"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7204"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7209,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7204\/revisions\/7209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}