Nicky Wilson

Nicky Wilson (born 5 July 1950) is a British trade unionist.

Wilson began working as an electrician at Cardowan Colliery in 1967. He joined the Scottish Colliery Enginemen, Boilermen and Tradesmen Association (SCEBTA), a constituent of the National Union of Mineworkers.[1] During the UK miners' strike of 1984 to 1985, he organised pickets and also ran a soup kitchen for miners. He was arrested at Ravenscraig after some protesters - who he states were not miners themselves - began throwing bottles at vehicles. The case came to court, and he was found not guilty.[2] Cardowan Colliery did not reopen after the strike, and Wilson found himself without work for a period before he was given employment at the Longannet coal mine.[3]

Wilson was elected as secretary of SCEBTA but, due to job losses in the industry, in 1989 it was merged into the Scottish Area of the National Union of Mineworkers. Wilson became general secretary of the Scottish Area and although he lost an election for the post in 1997, he was re-elected in 1999.[1] In 1999, he also became a director of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust.[4]

Wilson lost his job in 2002 as the coal mine he worked at the time was closed, and he instead became a full-time trade unionist. In 2012, he was elected as President of the NUM, after becoming the only candidate to meet the requirements for nomination to the post. This was challenged in court by Stephen Mace, a Yorkshire-based miner who was a supporter of Arthur Scargill, but the tribunal ruled that his election was run correctly.[1]

References

1. "Mineworkers’ union member fails in Employment Appeal Tribunal challenge to election of president", Scottish Legal News, 9 February 2015
2. Graham Fraser, "Thatcher remembered: The Scottish NUM President Nicky Wilson", STV News, 17 April 2013
3. "Miners Strike: 30 years on, memories still raw over bitter battle", Evening Times, 3 March 2015
4. "The effects of the miners’ strike are still felt today 30 year on", Sunday Post, 9 March 2014