Video: How the mighty miners’ union was reduced to just 100 paying members
The union used to have more than half a million members, holding a series of national strikes in a bid to keep pits open and win better pay and conditions, led by some of the most influential trade unionists of their generation such as Joe Gormley and Arthur Scargill.
But the industry has collapsed after years of closures, which will be completed on Friday when the final shifts are worked at the Yorkshire mine.
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Hide AdChris Kitchen, general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, told the Press Association it was a “sad day” for the country as well as the industry.
He is one of just 12 members of staff left employed by the NUM, some part-time.
The union also employs staff at centres in Scotland and Dorset which offer holidays for former miners.
The NUM still operates in areas where pits have long closed, and organises the increasingly popular Durham Miners Gala every summer.
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Hide AdThe union says on its website that it is still “alive and kicking”, representing miners, their families and their communities, as well as being active industrially and politically.
But 30 years after the start of the year-long miners’ strike, the union is left with a membership which would have seemed outlandishly low, even a few years ago.
Mr Kitchen argues that the NUM’s demise could be seen as a sign of its success because it was prepared to fight for the coal industry and its members, in the face of fierce opposition from governments.