R1bn paid to 11,000 families in silicosis, TB settlement by Tshiamiso Trust

The Tshiamiso Trust, established to compensate former gold mine workers who contracted silicosis and tuberculosis (TB) after working in mines, has paid the first R1bn to 11,316 eligible claimants.

It had paid just under R800m in benefits by September 30 2022.

The trust was formed after a R5bn settlement in a 2018 class action lawsuit was reached to be paid out over 13 years. The Tshiamiso Trust was set up in terms of the settlement with a mandate to ensure those who have silicosis or work-related TB are compensated.

Six mining companies were party to the agreement — African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony and Sibanye-Stillwater.

The trust’s acting CEO Lusanda Jiya said it has been two years since it officially began accepting claims.

“Our people come to work every day with the mission of impacting lives for the better, and the first R1bn paid to more than 11,000 families is just the beginning. We know there are many frustrations and we know no compensation will be enough to undo the suffering endured by mineworkers and their families. However, we are committed to deliver on our mandate and ensure every family eligible for compensation receives it,” said Jiya.

The frustrations faced are mostly related to the lack of understanding of the limitations of the trust, the requirements of the trust deed that governs it and expectations of where it fits within the broader social benefits and compensation framework.

“Trusts are limited in the time in which they can operate and the extent to which they can assist those seeking compensation. The Tshiamiso Trust has a lifespan of 12 years, ending February 2031.

“It cannot change the compensation system and it cannot help people who do not meet the criteria for compensation. What it can and will do is spend the next eight years using the trust to deliver benefits to as many qualifying ex-mineworkers as possible, by empowering claimants and potential claimants with the correct information and servicing them in the best way possible, within the constraints of the trust deed,” Jiya said.

The eligibility criteria dictated by the trust deed results in most claims being rejected for medical reasons and many claims, especially for deceased mineworkers, taking longer to process.

According to the trust, the one-off compensation amounts were updated in February 2023 in line with CPI and range from a little more than R10,000 to just under R534,000, with most claims paid to date about R74,000.

The maximum amount payable for each of the 10 compensation classes may be reduced based on risk work done on non-qualifying mines or outside the qualifying periods, including if the qualifying gold mine changed ownership between 1965 and 2019.

The trust said more than 111,000 claims have been received to date, through offices in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Mozambique.

The eligibility criteria include, among other things, that mineworkers:

• carried out risk work at one of the qualifying gold mines during the qualifying period between March 12 1965 and December 10 2019 (bearing in mind that some mines changed ownership during that time and are only considered during the periods they were owned by the participating mining companies);
• for living mineworkers they must have permanent lung damage from silicosis or TB that they contracted from doing risk work at these mines; and 
• for deceased mineworkers there must either be evidence that they died from TB within a year of leaving the mine (if it’s a TB claim and the mineworker died before December 10 2019) or evidence that they had silicosis or died from silicosis if it’s a silicosis claim.

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