Miners suffering from silicosis and awaiting their share of R5bn in compensation from gold companies may now have to wait longer as the dispersal of funds faces delays because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Medical experts and authorities, in SA and elsewhere in the world, have instructed that lung function tests should not be carried out at this time. This is because individuals are required to blow into the devices, and it is clear that this could cause many additional Covid-19 infections to occur when the device is used by a number of people,” said Prof May Hermanus, chair of the Tshiamiso Trust.
The Tshiamiso Trust, which is facilitating the claims of affected mineworkers, said the lung function tests are necessary to determine the level of damage to the lungs, which is used to determine whether a claimant would be entitled to compensation, and if so, what level.
The trust was established as part of a R5bn settlement agreement. The first payments to affected miners and dependants was scheduled for the end of June.
The trust has implemented the initial pilot phase to its claims system, which began on June 26.
“We hope that an initial set of claimants will be able to receive their compensation in the next few weeks. This is going to be an important test of the reliability of the system we have spent the last couple of months developing,” Hermanus said.
The high court in Johannesburg approved the settlement agreement in 2019, which requires mining companies to compensate mine employees and the dependants of deceased miners who have been affected by silicosis and tuberculosis.
The historic settlement agreement was reached with six SA gold companies: African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony and Sibanye-Stillwater.
Though the mining companies expect about 100,000 claims to be eligible, the number of former mineworkers who may seek to claim from the fund could be as high as 1-million.
As per the terms of the settlement, eligible claimants fall under 10 categories, with payouts ranging from R10,000 to as much as R500,000. Few claimants are excepted to fall in the R500,000 category.
Claimants who develop silicosis in the next 12 years will also be eligible for compensation.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has unfortunately meant that we have had to find a new approach to how potentially eligible claimants can lodge their claims,” said Hermanus.
Hermanus said the Covid-19 situation means the trust’s extent to which it can pay claims will be limited in the months ahead. The trust will be able to begin receiving claims regarding tuberculosis benefits where medical records exist.
“Under the current circumstances, we are limited to considering claims only from individuals (or, if deceased, their dependants) for whom there are existing medical records, since we cannot carry out [the lung function test],” said Hermanus.
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