Tables appear to have turned, eight years after the Marikana massacre.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is possessing more members at the former mine, which now belongs to Sibanye.
The labour dispute between the NUM, rival union Amcu, and Lonmin management resulted in the death of 34 mineworkers at the hands of police back in 2012.
When Lonmin mineworkers turned against the NUM in 2011, they looked towards rival union Amcu and its president Joseph Mathunjwa to settle their wage dispute with the platinum giant.
Some days before the massacre happened, Mathunjwa met with Lonmin management and police police, which led them in trying to avoid the bloodshed.
These efforts were pretty rewarded as Amcu experienced unprecedented growth and appeared to deal a death knell to the NUM on the Platinum Belt.
The future of Amcu now looks precarious, as its members start to fight for positions even as its relationship with Sibanye sours.
This has in turn led to the NUM reclaiming some ground, and last year, a first rally in Marikana in seven years was held by the union.
It’s looking like the NUM intends to keep up this advance while Amcu faces a rebellion from within.
