BFI Player is now available on more TV apps

This film is part of Free

Miners Retirement

As the Cannock Chase office of the NUM fills up with the walking wounded from the pit face what future can there be for such a high risk industry?

News 1977 13 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for Media Archive for Central England

Overview

In 1977 240,000 members of the National Union of Mineworkers were asked whether they agreed with the plan to retire underground workers at 62. Miners living in the shadow of Littleton Colliery in Staffordshire, which was once known as the 'death pit' according to this ATV Today report, have grim tales to tell about the industry's poor safety record. Filmed at a time when the inherent dangers of mining were considered to be the biggest threat to the future of the industry.