The legacy of the UK coal industry: Social and economic costs continue to mount in 1999

The UK Government will continue to pay for the UK coal industry for problems which occurred when the UK coal industry was nationalised. For some years yet, there will be compensation required for subsidence, land and water pollution and most importantly, paying adequate compensation to mineworkers suffering from ill health due to their work which is well overdue. Throughout the history of coal mining in the UK, the miners were underpaid for the tasks they performed compared with wages paid for less strenuous and far safer jobs. When hundreds of miners were killed each year, in several key regions no death benefits were paid. One of the saddest aspects of UK Government policy is that whilst the Labour Parry in particular has promoted employment in the mines, no party has paid prompt and adequate compensation for death, injuries and ill health nor for pollution caused by coal mining. This review provides a statistical background to the UK coal industry to put in perspective the recent actions of the UK Government's.