The divided National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has lost more than 132,000 members in the past five years, with the once formidable union now boasting only about 176,000 members in the mining, construction and energy sectors. Business Day has seen the union’s secretariat report, which is expected to be presented by general secretary David Sipunzi at its central committee meeting starting on Thursday. According to the report, the loss of membership could, in fact, be higher because regions had failed to submit detailed membership data. "It shows that we have not really grasped the reality of dwindling union density, which could open the space to be occupied by anarchists and counter-revolutionaries," said the report. NUM has been struggling to resuscitate itself on the platinum belt following the emergence of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu). The union also pointed to an "orchestrated" plan by employers to disenfranchise it across the mining industry. But ...
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