After the war, Emmanuel worked mainly on coastal ships from Liverpool, picking up minerals from local mines on the west coast of Wales. Post-war continued to be difficult times for the working classes including seamen in Great Britain - 'through the 1920s Britain's economy was already struggling to pay for the effects of World War I’. Work continued to be hard and low-paid, with workmen at loggerheads with factory and mine owners culminating in strikes and lock-outs such as the Miners Strike of 1926. The Trades Union Congress called a General Strike in 1926 in support of the mine workers which lasted 9 days from 3 – 12 May. Seamen like Emmanuel, docking into Port Talbot, were not immune to these hardships, signing up to each voyage and becoming aware of the activities of workmen and trade unionists in ports and industrial towns like Aberafan, across Great Britain.