What urged the miners" to strike? Working conditions were appalling; pit head baths were in short supply. Statistics from the Sankey Commission stated that " about four men are killed every 24hrs" The high casualties explained why relations were so poor and why the industry was strike prone. One could say that the miners" are little to blame for the strike and the following information can back this statement up. The miners" wanted to avoid confrontation, they simply wanted to achieve better working conditions and wage and their in striking was not to cause controversy but simply to let those in the position to change things to hear about their point of view. The purpose for the strike in the case of the miners was simply an attempt to stop further exploitation. In the words of the T.U.C's paper "The British Worker"; "the sole aim for the Council is to secure for the miners" a decent standard of life". The view that others take is that the miners and the T.U.C were nothing more than revolutionists with a contempt for the wealth of capitalists. However one could disagree with this view. As far as a plan for a Communist takeover was concerned it was very unlikely. The militant leaders (such as AJ Cook) were bitter men who had been let down by the war. Cook, although seen as a poor negotiator was devoted to the miners cause " Not a penny off the pay, not a minute on the day" Nevertheless it is impossible to place all blame for the General Strike onto just one particular group. All three are to blame to some extent. One of the things that could perhaps make the miners appear as if they were most to blame is their stubbornness. In 1925, the mine owners proposed wage cuts due to the price of coal falling on the world market. The miners would not accept these pay cuts nor were they intelligent in their negotiations they refused to negotiate; "we are going to be slaves no more and our men will starve before they accept any reductions in wages" (AJ Cook) There were negotiations after the publication of the Samuel Report but the miners dismissed the miner owners proposal.