Johannesburg – Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, the founding general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has called on the union to go back to basics and reclaim its successes from the late-1980s. Ramaphosa led the union during the 1987 mining strike which crippled the industry and proved the strength of the NUM. It was at some point the fastest growing union in the world, but has seen a steady decline with the growth of the Associated Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) in both the platinum and gold sectors. The union claims its latest membership figures stand at 230 000 but this is been vehemently disputed.“The industry started realising the mineworkers were taking control. And take control the NUM did in 1987,” Ramaphosa told congress delegates.

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