Description

The plastic ribbon was used on the occasion of a protest action by the Mining and Energy Industrial Union on Friday, 14 February 1997 against the closure of coal mines. For this purpose, a human chain, the line of solidarity, was formed from 11.00-12.00 on a route of 93 kilometres from west to east across the coal deposit area in the Ruhr region. The ribbon was handed out to the protesters and was meant to symbolise a chain when held in the hands. At least 220.000 protesters joined this event.
Since the end of the 1950s in Germany massive lockdowns of collieries took place. In the 1960s around 100.000 jobs in the mining industry were at stake and in the Ruhr Area several demonstrations took place. As a measure against the crisis of the coal industry in 1968 the Ruhrkohle AG was founded. Since then the so called structural change, the „Sturkurwandel“, was initiated. In accordance employers, miners and unions negotiated this process. Following this plan the workforce in the mining industry was reduced step by step.
Against this kind of planned economy in 1996 the German government annouced to reduce the workforce in the mining industry with additional 10.000. At that time there were still 80.000 miners at the Ruhr. This annoucement provoked the protest of the miners and the unions in the following year. Therefore line of solidarity was not a classical protest of workers against capital but against the government and its policy.

Geographic Region(s)

Industrial Context

Time Period

  • 1991-2000

Source Collection

German Mining Museum

Keywords

  • Protest ,
  • Strukturwandel ,
  • Steinkohle ,
  • Demonstration