'A political fight'

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Chris Hickling, a young, striking miner from Hucknall pit in Nottinghamshire, and his wife Kim, spoke to Class There are miners in support of the strike at most Notts pits now, and at Chris's pit there is a picket line of striking Notts miners.

Chris: The other men are now starting to listen to us. We've got a picket on at every shift. More and more men are joining us.

It's mainly young lads who realise that they've got to fight for their jobs.

If there's been a man at work 13 years, and he's due to £13,000 redundancy, and l've been there 3½ years and I'm entitled to nothing, the Coal Board will obviously sack me first. But there are some older blokes out too.

I don't think there will be a national ballot because Notts is slowly coming out. I don't want a national ballot. I didn't want the area ballot. It was the worst decision this area ever made. You can't vote on another man's job.

If you vote 'no' on a ballot you are voting • not to help another man fight for his job.

We've had good support from the NUR. They've told us to put a sheet up over a bridge, telling them it's a picket line, and they won't cross it. So that's what we've started to do.

We've got to get the support to win. We've got to have 100% solidarity throughout the NUM. Men have got to vote with their feet.

Striking miners have seen that they've got a lot of support here in the Notts coalfield. I was working but I've never crossed a picket line. I never would. I'd rather face the sack or die than cross a picket line.

We've been lads came up.

I'm a bit disappointed in Neil Kinnock. I thought he'd be a good man for the job, but he said he would have voted for a national ballot. I think it's disgusting. It's nothing more than vote-catching by the Labour Party.

They're trying to protect their interests. But if they really want to protect their interests then let them come out and say they support the working class. Because this is a fight for the working class, it's not just for the NUM.

If they smash the NUM they'll smash everyone else.

This is a political fight. MIs Thatcher threw down the gauntlet to the NUM by employing the butcher from America. It's up to the NUM to pick up that gauntiet, fight all pit closures and win the demands we've been advancing for the last few years. So I say to the Coal Board watch out, we're prepared for a long fight and we're going to win.

If the mining community comes together and fights as one, this Tory government will be smashed. It might be a long, hard fight, but we'll beat them in the end. This Tory government has got to be got out. If we can't smash the Tory government, we cannot smash MacGregor.

The fight isn't just against MacGregor, he's just a puppet on a string. The fight is with the Tory government.

Kim: I am extremely proud that Chris has come out on strike in support of the Yorkshire men, and I'm 100% behind him. Any sacrifice is worth it because we are doing it for future generations.

Some women have said that their sons shouldn't have to go down the pit and I agree but there isn't any other work around so they should have the right to go down the pit if they want to. Martin Shakeshaft (IFL)