Six Hundred Denaby Miners Still Out of Work

Increasing Poverty and Distress

It is fifty weeks ago come Sunday that the famous Denaby and Cadeby strike started, and although the general surrender took place 14 weeks since there are still 600 men and boys who cannot get employment, and with the pits now practically filled up families and homes will have to be removed elsewhere, though the scarcity of vacancies leaves little hope of the big majority of the men seeing an end to their troubles for a considerable time to come.

As is well known, with the ending of the strike the “nipsey” money fell off considerably, and the hundreds of men still out of employment have had to keep in many cases large families of growing and hungry children on a few shillings a week, generously provided by voluntary subscriptions.

Needless to say, under such conditions poverty and distress have grown apace, and at the present time the scores of ragged children, with pinched faces and hunger staring out of their eyes, eloquently testify to the almost unbearable state things have come to pass.

The worst feature of it all is that there seems to be little probability of these unfortunate husbands and fathers getting work so urgently needed, and the present position presents a problem extremely difficult of solution.

The fact that they have been strikers seems to act as an insurmountable barrier to their hopes of getting work elsewhere, and the mention of the name Denaby has caused many a man to be turned away when applying for work.

Only this week a couple of men tramped into Derbyshire, and were successful in getting signed on, but when they went to fetch their lamps were told to go, as the manager had learnt they were from Denaby.

Whatever the merits or demerits of the past dispute, now it is over it is a matter of extreme regret that so many women and children should be so keenly feeling the bitterness of a sequel that was never dreamt of, let alone realised.

“Nipsey” money was distributed yesterday at the rate of 3s. per man and 1s. per boy, and it would be interesting to know how eight or ten people can manage to exist on 3s. for seven days.