National Union of Mineworkers: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The National Union of Mineworkers is a trade union for coal miners in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1945 as a reorganisation of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain. From 1981 to 2000 it was led by Arthur Scargill.

In 1984, the NUM went on strike, partly in response to forced layoffs by the UK government-controlled National Coal Board, and partly in an attempt to damage British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher politically. The Miners' Strike lasted a full year, during which there were violent clashes between police and miners, before workers were forced back to work without a deal and was an era-defining moment in British politics. The British coal-mining industry never fully recovered from the damage caused by the strike.