South Yorkshire Times, January 13th 1933
Steel Props
Lightning Strike At Barnburgh
Order Disobeyed
An order to a squad of men to set steel props, in pursuance of a notice that steel props are to be generally introduced into the pit, was the source of trouble at Barnburgh Main colliery on Tuesday afternoon, the pit is still standing, the men and boys employed numbering about 2400 having refused to resume work till the notice is withdrawn. The management on the other hand require the men to resume work before discussions are held on the question of the use of steel in preference to wooden props.
The notice was posted on Monday and the men protested then. When the order was given to nineteen men to set steel props in their working places on Tuesday, they refused to obey the order and left the pit. The same day the men called a pit-yard meeting and decided to send the officials of the Y.M.A.to the management to ask for the withdrawal of the notice pending discussion. The management replied that they would not discuss the matter till the men had returned to work.
The matter was taken to Y.M.A. headquarters at Barnsley and the men were advised to return to work on Wednesday night. They did not do so, but decided to take no further action till they had held a mass meeting, which took place at the Collingwood Hotel, Bolton-on-Dearne, last evening. The men were addressed by the branch secretary Mr. W. A. Williams, and decided to hold to their decision not to resume work till the order regarding the steel props is withdrawn.
In the meantime, efforts were to be made to arrange a meeting between the men’s leaders and the manager of the Colliery, Mr. T. Soar this (Friday) evening.
The men’s objection to the steel props is mainly on the score of danger. They hold that the wooden prop is a much safer device than the steel one. The management take the opposite view.
The men also object that steel props are heaver to handle and more costly to replace.
The management inform us that Barnburgh is practically the last of the South Yorkshire pits to introduce steel props. At Manvers Main, under the same company they have been in extensive use for some time.
Mr. Soar also informs us that steel arches and girders have been in use at Barnburgh for three or four years, not only in the main roads, but right up to the face. They also were the subject of dispute on their introduction but, according to Mr. Soar, the men “would not be without them now.” He holds the view that the men’s objection to the steel props is largely due to their novelty; they are something to which the men are not accustomed.