Crow picker

Other names:
Craw Picker, Shale Inspector

also known as Craw Picker, Shale Inspector

Crow pickers were officials employed by the oil company on the surface to ensure that stone and other waste material were not included in the weight of hutches produced by mine contractors (shale miners). Contractors were paid by the company for the weight of shale that they produced, consequently the crowpicker was sometimes held in distdane by miners.

Wages & Working Hours

In 1958, an Agreement Between the Scottish Shale Oil Companies and the National Union of Shale Miners & Oil Workers records that shale inspectors earned 27s 8d per shift. Above ground workers handling shale worked an 11 day fortnight averaging 40.5 hours per week.

Additional Resources

  • Oral history transcript: Mr George Bertram

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