BUSINESS MAVERICK: Long and winding road: Claims process in SA silicosis settlement finally under way

The processing of claims in the historic R5-billion class action settlement on behalf of gold miners who contracted the incurable lung disease silicosis is now up and running, the trust managing the payments said on Tuesday. It is a long and winding road, but justice is starting to be served for a historic wrong that literally left those wronged breathless.

The class-action suit, spearheaded by human rights lawyer Richard Spoor, was launched in 2012 and an initial settlement of R5-billion was reached in May 2018 and finally approved by the courts in July 2019. The R5-billion, which the six mining companies involved have already set aside, is an estimate. The final payout figure could be higher or lower depending on the certification of claimants.

As of 28 February, 2,402 claims have been lodged and 408 medical examinations have been conducted on applying claimants, the trust’s CEO, Daniel Kotton, said. The health and safety of this workforce was not a pressing boardroom concern so long as the dividends kept flowing. An untold number of gold miners from the far-flung reaches of the rural Eastern Cape, Lesotho, Mozambique and other places contracted silicosis by inhaling silica dust from gold-bearing rocks. Silicosis is an incurable lung disease. This is a historic wrong that has literally left those wronged breathless. But it is at least being righted now.

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