Miners' Welfare 1939 : Annual report of the Miners' Welfare Commission ; London ; 1940 : cover
The Miners' Welfare Fund was set up under the Mining Industry Act of 1920 to be applied to "purposes connected with the social well-being, recreation and conditions of living of workers in or about coal mines" and it was funded by a levy on output and royalties that varied at various times. In 1939 a change occurred in that the basic levy per ton of output was raised from ½d per ton to 1d and the work of the Fund was transferred to the new Commission from the old Committee. The Committee's work was organised by District Committees, based on the important coalfields and that included representatives of both owners and workers. One of the most important works delivered by the Fund was the construction of pithead baths at collieries; this was to improve the working conditions of miners as well as of their domestic circumstances, saving a miner at the end of their shift having to return home, often to unsatisfactory housing, to bathe and clean clothes. The Fund also provided canteens at collieries, cycle stores and also provided a great number of recreational schemes such as club rooms, sports grounds and playgrounds. To give an indication of the scale of the latter this took 54% of the Fund since 1921 that amounted to nearly £6,000,000.
The Annual Reports are usually organised to give a description of works undertaken by each District's Committee and these are often illustrated. The buildings, such as pithead baths, were often strikingly 'moderne' in appearance to help bolster an image of an industry modernising at a time when much of it was in decline. But these were important buildings that deserved to be local landmarks as they had such an impact on working lives.
The work of the Commission and the District funds was rolled into the newly Nationalised industry when the post-war Labour Government created the National Coal Board in 1947. Interestingly the architecturally 'modern' look was often continued at reconstructed collieries and new sinkings.
Miners' Welfare 1939 : Annual report of the Miners' Welfare Commission ; London ; 1940 : cover
The Miners' Welfare Fund was set up under the Mining Industry Act of 1920 to be applied to "purposes connected with the social well-being, recreation and conditions of living of workers in or about coal mines" and it was funded by a levy on output and royalties that varied at various times. In 1939 a change occurred in that the basic levy per ton of output was raised from ½d per ton to 1d and the work of the Fund was transferred to the new Commission from the old Committee. The Committee's work was organised by District Committees, based on the important coalfields and that included representatives of both owners and workers. One of the most important works delivered by the Fund was the construction of pithead baths at collieries; this was to improve the working conditions of miners as well as of their domestic circumstances, saving a miner at the end of their shift having to return home, often to unsatisfactory housing, to bathe and clean clothes. The Fund also provided canteens at collieries, cycle stores and also provided a great number of recreational schemes such as club rooms, sports grounds and playgrounds. To give an indication of the scale of the latter this took 54% of the Fund since 1921 that amounted to nearly £6,000,000.
The Annual Reports are usually organised to give a description of works undertaken by each District's Committee and these are often illustrated. The buildings, such as pithead baths, were often strikingly 'moderne' in appearance to help bolster an image of an industry modernising at a time when much of it was in decline. But these were important buildings that deserved to be local landmarks as they had such an impact on working lives.
The work of the Commission and the District funds was rolled into the newly Nationalised industry when the post-war Labour Government created the National Coal Board in 1947. Interestingly the architecturally 'modern' look was often continued at reconstructed collieries and new sinkings.