Surveys developments from the establishment of the Apartheid state to 1982 when it was being challenged in the mines, factories and townships. After the Soweto Revolt, the government slowly began to compromise and by 1982 the conditions were present for the formation of a new union for black mineworkers. Key Features include studies of: Recruitment, harsh working conditions and work-related deaths and injuries, including a detailed account of the Coalbrook Colliery disaster in 1960 when 437 were killed. A wave of dissent by black students and industrial workers arose in the 1970s. The Guardian newspaper conducted a successful wages campaign for black workers. Black mineworkers joined the protesters in 1973-1976 when more than 200 of them were killed. These protests were followed by the Soweto uprising, by township violence and by a state response that was both oppressive and conciliatory

South Africa's prosperity was built on the wealth dragged out of the ground by mine workers: the first volume of three runs up to the defeat of the mineworkers' strike in 1946 and the election of the first Nationalist Party government. Key Features include: Information on the early days of the industry from slavery to compound labour. Explanation of the coercive forces that drove workers to the mines and of the creation of a permanent supply of cheap black labour. Strikes and Protests from the 1920s to 1946

The formation of the National Union of Mineworkers in 1982, its aim for solidarity amongst mineworkers, opposition from the Chamber of Mines and the struggle for survival after the strike defeat by the Anglo American Corporation in 1987. As the crisis of Apartheid intensified the NUM played a crucial role in winning support for both the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party. It aided both organisations by re-creating their infra-structures through the provision of accommodation, national and local officials and finance

The formation of the National Union of Mineworkers in 1982, its aim for solidarity amongst mineworkers, opposition from the Chamber of Mines and the struggle for survival after the strike defeat by the Anglo American Corporation in 1987. As the crisis of Apartheid intensified the NUM played a crucial role in winning support for both the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party. It aided both organisations by re-creating their infra-structures through the provision of accommodation, national and local officials and finance