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| The settlement will cover those who worked for the mining giants between March 1965 and the present day and will reportedly benefit up to 100,000 former mine workers or their dependents |
Thousands
of miners in South Africa affected by silicosis from exposure to dust reached a
breakthrough settlement worth $390 million with several mining companies on
Thursday, their lawyers said.
The
settlement will cover those who worked for the mining giants between March 1965
and the present day and will reportedly benefit more than 100,000 former mine
workers or their dependents.
Many of
those affected were poor migrant labourers originally from countries
neighbouring South Africa including Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique.
South
Africa's mines, which have attracted workers from across the region in the 130
years following the discovery of the world's largest gold deposits, remain some
of the world's deepest and most dangerous.
"This
is an historic settlement, resulting from years of extensive
negotiations," said a statement issued jointly by the miners'
representatives and the affected companies.
"The
agreement provides meaningful compensation to all eligible workers" who
worked for African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American SA, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold
Fields, Harmony and Sibanye-Stillwater, it added.
It is the
first class action settlement of its kind in South Africa and follows three
years of negotiations.
Many miners
caught silicosis, which has no known cure, while drilling through rock and
inhaling silica dust that lodged in their lungs and caused permanent scarring.
Symptoms
include persistent coughing and shortness of breath, and the disease regularly
leads to tuberculosis and death.
The
agreement must now be approved by the South Guateng High Court in Johannesburg.
'The best
we could achieve'
"The
purpose was to hold the gold mining industry accountable for the enormous harm
that it has inflicted on workers for years. The second objective was to bring a
measure of redress for the families of miners and ex-miners," said lawyer
Richard Spoor who headed the class action on behalf of the miners.
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Some
studies have found silicosis prevalence in South African gold mines at between
22 and 36 percent of all workers -- among the highest rates in the world
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"It is
the best we could achieve. We have not compromised. We have done the best we
could possibly achieve."
Graham
Briggs, who represents the Occupational Lung Disease Working Group which acted
on behalf of six of the mining companies, said "a settlement is certainly
preferable for several parties because it brings payment sooner than any class
action".
"A
settlement is preferable because it brings certainty," he added.
The joint
statement said that six companies last year made financial provisions worth a
total of 5 billion rand ($390 million) to cover the claims.
Anglo
American has set aside the most for the payments with a provision for $101
million (84 million euros), followed by Sibanye which has earmarked $82
million, according to Bloomberg News.
Spoor said
that claimants could expect payments to begin in September or October which he
said might be "disappointing for those who have waited so long".
"In
the last five years, out of 35,000 clients that my firm has represented,
approximately 5,000 have died. It puts tremendous pressure to settle," he
said.
In cases
where the original claimants have died, health minister Aaron Motsoaledi vowed
that "the widows will be paid (but) it is not going to be very easy to
find them".
Some
studies have found silicosis prevalence in South African gold mines at between
22 and 36 percent of all workers -- among the highest rates in the world.
In 2011,
the Constitutional Court paved the way for the class action by ruling that
mineworkers who had often accepted paltry compensation for their ill-health
could still sue.
Activists
warned of the huge challenge of organising the claims and dispensing the
compensation.
"This
is a good starting point, but they need to include actual miners and ex-miners
in the trustees board so we can contribute to the rollout," said Rantso Mantsi,
a former miner from Lesotho.
"There
are many people who died before being compensated, hopefully their families
will now be paid out."
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