Canteen Workers’ Wages and Collective-Bargaining Arrangements in British Coal

This paper examines the rates of pay of female canteen workers employed by British Coal as compared to male employees, with a focus on the reasons for the existence and persistence of a wage differential of around 20%. Four sets of interrelated issues are addressed: first, the structure of collective pay bargaining in the coal industry and the formal and informal relationship between bargaining arrangements for female canteen workers and male mineworkers; second, the empirical evidence on relative pay levels and rates of change for female canteen workers and other British Coal employees; third, the structure and influence of the external labour market for canteen workers and its relation to the position of British Coal’s female canteen workers; and fourth, the role of gender in influencing the level of wage differential between female employees and male employees of British Coal. The conclusion is that gender difference seems to be the main explanatory factor for the remaining differences in pay and conditions that exist between female canteen workers and mineworkers.