(i) What is thought to be important in jobs in general

The table given below shows what characteristics of jobs in general were listed for judgment and gives a ranking of these attributes according to the frequency with which informants said that they were very important.

Most of the characteristics listed in this table were interpreted correctly, but ‘interest of job’ seems to have been given a wider meaning than the one intended. As parents saw it, interest was not associated only with the process but with the setting in which it operated. That is to say, atmosphere, surroundings, the people involved.

All the characteristics listed were important in themselves. In other words, they were chosen because they were important, so that it becomes necessary to establish some arbitrary point on the scales at which it can be argued that the proportion rating each attribute as very important becomes of practical significance. In the following discussion of the table a point half way up the range of each scale has been selected.

Mining fathers and mothers and the boys all agree, therefore, that the interest of a job, its security in terms of steady employment, the wages attached to it and the prospects of promotion to be found in it, are the most important factors in jobs in general. The boys add the kind of work that has to be done to this list: they also rank working surroundings higher than the parents do and welfare arrangements lower.

Those in favour of mining as a job think that wages and welfare arrangements are very important in a job more frequently than those who are against mining, but they less frequently think that prospects of promotion, working surroundings and relations with the management are very important. These attitudes are therefore associated with those expressed in the previous section on the advantages and disadvantages of mining.

(ii) How coal-mining compares with other work

In comparing these characteristics in coal-mining with the same characteristics in other jobs parents were asked to take a concrete example of another job of which they had knowledge as a basis for their comparison.

Material incentives such as wages, the security of the job, welfare arrangements, and hours of work were rated as better in mining than in other industries by the greater proportion of mining fathers.

Such psychological aspects of a job as its interest, and prospects of promotion, were most frequently thought to be worse in mining than in other jobs. Similarly, of those mining fathers who could express an opinion, a slightly higher proportion thought that relations with management were worse in coal-mining than in other occupations.

The physical conditions of mining, that is, working surroundings and the kind of work that has to be done, were thought to be worse in mining than in other Jobs by four out of five mining fathers.

The opinions of mining mothers, non-mining parents, and boys agreed closely with those of the mining fathers, although boys were not so frequently certain that mining is more secure than other occupations.

The parents who did not favour mining as a job thought that all the characteristics listed were worse in mining than in other jobs more frequently than those who favoured mining. The greatest divergence of opinion between the two groups occurred in their judgment of the relative position in coal-mining of the interest of the job, prospects of promotion, security (so far as the mothers were concerned) and the kind of work. Those against mining thought these characteristics worse in that occupation than in others very much more frequently than the parents who were in favour of mining.

From all angles it is apparent that the chief factors on which parents and boys base their opinions of coal-mining are wages, hours and welfare arrangements, and possibly security, on the one hand, and prospects of promotion, interest of the job, the kind of work that has to be done, and working surroundings, on the other hand. Of the four factors rated as most important in jobs in general - wages, security, interest of job, prospect of promotion - wages are favourable to mining, security is favourable in the opinion of mining fathers but not so favourable in the opinion of mining mothers and boys, while interest of job and

prospects of promotion are unfavourable to mining. Broadly speaking, therefore, material incentives are thought to be reasonable in mining, but psychological incentives are lacking, while physical conditions are wholly against it.

In general, the factors that informants found favourable to mining were those factors they thought better in coal-mining than in other jobs, and those factors they find unfavourable are those they think worse in coal-mining, than in other jobs. However important emotional considerations may be, therefore, and however much they may add bitterness to the miners’ judgment, it is clear that their estimates of what is good and what is bad in mining are based on considered comparisons of coal-mining with other jobs.

As a first step toward altering their attitudes it is, therefore, necessary that an attempt should be made to convince those against mining that prospects of promotion and security are not less in mining than in other jobs, that the interest of the job will increase in the future, and that the kind of work that has to be done will be greatly altered by the introduction of new methods of coal getting.

(iii) The most and least unpleasant aspects of working conditions in coal-mining

Both those in favour of coal-mining and those against it as a job thought working surroundings and the kind of work that had to be done were worse in coal mining than in other jobs to a much greater extent than any other factor listed. An attempt has been made, therefore, to discover what parents and boys mean when they say that working conditions and the kind of work are bad in coal-mining, and to establish which aspects of them are most unfavourable to mining. Although this may be thought to cover familiar ground it is necessary to do so both for completeness and to settle what factors must be given the most publicity in any effort to show parents and boys how the reorganisation of the pits will affect conditions underground.

All who said that working surroundings and the kind of work that has to be done are worse in coal-mining than in other jobs, (that is, 80% of mining fathers, somewhat lower proportions of mining mothers and non-mining parents, and 87% of working boys, in the first instance, and smaller proportions in the second instance,) were asked what they thought most unpleasant and what least unpleasant about them.

Parents were given a list of characteristics of work underground, and of these the mining fathers rated ‘Dust’ as the most unpleasant thing, ‘Danger to health’ the next most unpleasant thing, (if they are linked together they are considered the most unpleasant things by half the mining fathers), and ‘water’ and ‘danger from falls’ as the third and fourth most unpleasant things. ‘Darkness’, ‘Being underground’, ‘Dirt’, ‘Heat’ and ‘Sanitary conditions’ were rated as most unpleasant by very small percentages of mining fathers.

Mining mothers rated ‘danger from falls’ as the most unpleasant thing about working surroundings, much more frequently than anything else. ‘Danger to health’ came second, and ‘Dust’ third. The opinions of non - mining parents agreed with those of the mining mothers.

The boys were not given a list of characteristics on which to base their judgment but were asked if they could say what they thought to be the most unpleasant things about working underground in a mine. If they said that they could do so they were then asked what these things were.

Nine out of ten boys gave their opinion on the most unpleasant things about working underground. They spoke of ‘Danger from falls’ most frequently, and after that of ‘being underground’. Small proportions mentioned ‘Dust’, ‘Danger to health’, ‘Water’, ‘Gas fumes and smells’, and ‘Low seams and cramped positions’.

Among parents, therefore, the most unpleasant things are ‘Dust’, ‘Danger to Health’, ‘Danger from falls’, and ‘Water’, although mothers put these things in an order different from that of the fathers, while the boys are as much concerned with being underground as with the danger from falls, and mention ‘Dust’ and ‘Danger to Health’ comparatively infrequently.

Those against coal-mining as a job for their boys mention ‘Danger to health’ more frequently than those in favour of it, but otherwise there are no great differences between the two groups.

All groups of parents and boys found it difficult to say what were the least unpleasant things about working surroundings in coal-mining, but parents generally thought that being underground and the darkness were the least unpleasant aspects of mining. So few boys could mention factors that were not unpleasant that it would be pointless to quote their opinions.

It had been found in preliminary studies of this question that while parents knew a fair amount about conditions underground, (mining fathers apart), they knew much less about the kind of work done underground. Accordingly, they were asked whether they had any knowledge of a prepared list of kinds of work before they were asked to say which they thought the most unpleasant and which the least unpleasant.

Approximately half the mining mothers and half the non-mining parents knew nothing about any of the kinds of work listed. A similar proportion of the boys said that they knew nothing about jobs underground. Nevertheless, there were few differences between the parents who did not know about jobs underground but hazarded an opinion and those who knew and gave an opinion.

Mining fathers most frequently said that hewing by hand was the most unpleasant kind of work underground, although they said that boring and ripping was the most unpleasant almost as frequently. Cutting by machine was thought the most unpleasant job by somewhat fewer miners. Small proportions only spoke of repair work, haulage work, conveyor work, and filling as the most unpleasant work underground.

Mining mothers and non-mining parents spoke of the same things in the same order of frequency.

The majority of boys also thought that work at the coal face was the most unpleasant kind of work in mining, and they specified hewing as the most unpleasant job, although no list of kinds of work had been given to them.

The jobs that are vital in coal-mining, the coal getting jobs, are undoubtedly the most unpopular, therefore, either because of the effort involved or because of factors mentioned earlier in a general way, such as dust, danger from falls, and water, since it is the coal getter who experiences them all at their worst.

(iv) The attitudes of mining fathers toward conditions in coal-mining

The importance of working conditions as a factor in recruitment to mining has been demonstrated in the preceding pages of this report. There have undoubtedly been improvements in conditions in the last twenty years, however, and it was thought desirable to discover whether mining fathers agreed that this was so, what they considered the improvements to be, and, most important of all, what further improvements were needed and whether or not they thought they would be carried out. Pessimism on this score might have a very depressing effect on recruitment.

Nine out of ten mining fathers thought there had been improvements in coal-mining in the last twenty years. The differences between those in favour of mining and those against it were slight.

The chief improvements they mentioned were more machinery, better pay, better lighting and better ventilation and safety precautions, better welfare arrangements, and better hours, in that order.

The majority of mining fathers thought that further improvements could be made, however, principally improved ventilation, dust suppression and water drainage, improved safety conditions and less speeding up on jobs; the 5 - day week (now granted) and shorter, regular hours, more money for heavier jobs and skilled jobs, and for certificated work; more and better machinery; better roads and better transport to the coal face; and improved welfare arrangements.

Eight out of ten of the mining fathers who favoured mining thought that all or some of the improvements they suggested would be carried out, although a small proportion could not express an opinion. The mining fathers who were against mining were on balance doubtful, however. The considerable proportion, two out of five, who thought that all the improvements they suggested would be carried out were matched by the proportion who thought that none would be carried out.

Thus the emphasis of mining fathers’ opinions is laid on conditions underground and systems of payment which will recognise skill. The mining fathers in favour of mining are, on the whole, optimistic that the improvements they want will be carried out, while the fathers against mining, although less optimistic, are not prepared to say to any extent that they will not be carried out.

(v) Summary

The interest of a job, its security, the wages attached to it, and the prospects of promotion to be found in it, are considered to the most important factors in jobs in general by both parents and boys.

Material incentives, wages, welfare arrangements, hours of work, and, to a lesser extent, security, were rated as better in mining than in other industries. Psychological aspects of the occupation, such as interest and prospects of promotion were thought to be worse in mining than in other industries, and the physical conditions of mining were thought to be worse in mining by four out of five informants.

Those against mining as an occupation most frequently think that prospects of promotion, security, and the interest of the job, are less in mining than in other industries and the kind of work worse. It is suggested that they must be convinced, as a first step, that prospects of promotion and security are not less in mining than in other jobs, that the interest of the job will increase in the future, and that the kind of work to be done will be altered by new methods.

‘Danger to health’ and ‘Danger from falls’ are considered by far the worse things about conditions underground, and ‘hewing by hand’, ‘boring and ripping’, and ‘cutting by machine’ are considered to be the worst jobs underground.

The majority of mining fathers think that there have been improvements in mining in the last twenty years, but think also that more improvements can be made, largely in conditions underground. Those against mining are on the whole doubtful if improvements will be made.