JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and Sonke Gender Justice have been given the green light to present evidence against gold mining companies in a potential class action suit by hundreds of thousands of miners who contracted silicosis and tuberculosis (TB) in their line of work.
The South Gauteng High Court this week admitted the duo as ‘friends of the court’ in the landmark case, allowing the parties to highlight the wider social impact of the gold mining companies sending workers home with debilitating occupational diseases without support.
If certified during hearings starting on October 12, the class action would be deemed the largest class action lawsuit against mining companies for the contraction of occupational-related diseases.
The 32 gold mining companies under the spotlight collectively represented almost the entire South African gold mining industry, with the case expected to seek justice for over 200 000 current and former mineworkers and their dependants.
“… gold mining companies have endangered workers, fuelled epidemics, impoverished communities and entrenched gender inequalities over the past five decades,” TAC general secretary Anele Yawa said in a statement.
TAC and Sonke planned to introduce evidence of the impact that mining-related occupational disability has had on the women who cared for the mineworkers with silicosis and TB.
Sonke said it would unpack its new research within mine-sending communities that highlighted the nature and extent of women taking care of sick mineworkers and the physical, emotional and financial costs they have borne.
TAC and Sonke’s application had been opposed by 18 of the 32 gold mining companies involved in the case.