General   (General discussion, talk about anything.)

What you don't realise, Gaffer, is that me and Whups (to some extent, laaaaike! ) know what we're talking about because we can speak first-hand about the industry and what went on within it.

Let me explain - A man is employed by the N.C.B..
His name and Ni number are recorded and that makes it easy to prove that he was employed by the N.C.B. for whatever length of time.
But, that is hardly a "complete work history",
Where did he work? What job did he do? There's no record of that.
Many men worked very hard. A lot did nothing.
One man could've sat, all day, in fresh air and silence, operating a switch when need-be. Another could've spent all day drilling holes in rock, in thick dust and extreme noise. It's clear which man should be entitled to vibration white finger / deafness / chest complaint compensation. Although, to qualify, he would have to prove, by means of witness co-workers, that his work entailed what he claims it entailed. This is because there's no record kept of what you actually did, other than in the minds of those who were there!
Nearly two thousand men worked at Parkside Colliery at one point. Once you crossed the entrance line, no-one knew where you went, or what you did. Some even clocked on and went fishing, coming back later to clock off.

I was employed by the N.C.B., at Parkside, for 11 years. I had 18 months off due to head injury. When I went back, they had no record of me being employed there. They sent me back home for a further three months, "whi' wi' sort thee aight, reet"!
That's how shit the place was.
After I'd been left ten years or so, I got a letter off the union regarding compensation payments for deafness, white finger and chest complaints.
Deafness, no problem, I got a small payout for being deaf (even though I wasn't deaf!). Vibration white finger? No chance! I had to have witness statements off two co-workers stating that I'd used vibrating tools and couldn't get them. Nowt up with my chest either.
Eventually, I finished, on pension, due to the head injuries I'd previously had.