STUDY Trade Unions in Transformation An Assessment of NUMSA’s Attempt to Develop its Political and Organisational Independence, 2012–2016 MIRIAM DI PAOLA August 2017 n The transformation of South Africa’s largest union, the National Union of Metalwork­ers of South Africa, NUMSA, was triggered by the decision to assert its independ­ence from the ruling party and give voice to workers beyond the workplace – essen­tially a return to its political past. n This has steadily increased its membership by transforming itself from an industry­specific to a modern general union while strengthening its public profile as a cham­pion of an independent working class politics, but it has not succeeded in establish­ing sustained relations with working class communities. n Trade Unions in Transformation is an FES project that identifies unions’ power re­sources and capabilities that contribute to successful trade union action. This study features among two dozen case studies from around the world demonstrating how unions have transformed to get stronger.