The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is a mainly mining industry related trade union, an organisation of workers with common goals through organised labour, in South Africa. With a membership of 300,000 , it is the largest affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). History The union was founded in 1982 as a black mine workers union, on the initiative of the Council of Unions of South Africa. Its first leader was Cyril Ramaphosa, under whom it grew rapidly, winning bargaining recognition from the Chamber of Mines in 1983. NUM campaigned successfully in the 1980s for the end of the job reservation system, a system which ensured that the best-paid jobs were allocated to whites. The union was a founding affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions in 1985. In 2001, it absorbed the Construction and Allied Workers' Union, while in 2019 it was announced that it would soon absorb the Liberated Metalworkers' Union of South Africa. NUM was affiliated internationally with the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions. 2007 strike On 4 December 2007, the Union went on strike to protest working conditions in South Africa's mines. The strike was spurred on by a rise in worker fatalities from 2006 to 2007, despite a government plan in October to reduce fatalities. Less than 5% of mineworkers came to work on that day. 2012 wildcat strikes On 10 August 2012, thousands of NUM members began a series of wildcat strikes at Lonmin's Marikana mines linked to demands for increased pay. The following day, NUM leaders allegedly opened fire on striking NUM members who were marching to their offices to demand support from their union - an incident now acknowledge as the first violent incident during the strikes. It is said in the media that the killing of two striking miners was a central reason for the breakdown in trust within the union amongst workers. In a submission to the Farlam Commission, NUM has said that lethal force on this day was justified. It is estimated that between 12 and 14 August about nine people (at least four miners, two police officers and two security guards) were killed in the area around Marikana - though there is conflicting reports on who killed whom during these dates. On 16 August, police opened fire on a group of miners who had gathered on a