Admin
03 Jul, 2026
Tshiamiso Trust payments must lead to safer workplaces
Statement by Bulelani Bobotyane, Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement The United Democratic Movement (UDM) welcomes reports that the Tshiamiso Trust has paid R2.7 billion in compensation to former gold mineworkers and the dependants of deceased mineworkers who suffered from silicosis and occupational tuberculosis. This is an important step towards justice for workers who carried the health burden of South Africa’s gold mining economy. For generations, mineworkers gave their labour, their health and, in many cases, their lives to an industry that created great wealth while many workers and their families were left with illness, poverty and loss. The UDM notes that this compensation arises from the historic class-action settlement involving major gold mining companies. It confirms what mineworkers, rural communities and labour-sending areas have known for decades: that the human cost of mining was carried not only underground, but also in homes, villages and communities across South Africa and the Southern African region. The UDM is particularly mindful of the Eastern Cape, Lesotho and other labour-sending areas, where many families have lived with the consequences of occupational disease long after mineworkers returned home sick, unable to work, or passed away without proper recognition of the cause of their illness. This matter must also be viewed alongside South Africa’s painful asbestos history. Former asbestos mineworkers and affected communities also had to rely on compensation mechanisms after exposure caused serious and often fatal disease. These experiences show that occupational and environmental health failures can damage workers, families and communities for generations. South Africa cannot keep repeating this pattern, where workers are exposed to danger, communities carry the consequences, and compensation comes only years or decades later after legal action, illness and death. While the R2.7 billion payment is welcome, the UDM remains concerned that many claims have not yet been finalised. The process must not become so technical, slow or inaccessible that vulnerable former mineworkers and dependants are excluded because they lack documents, medical records, proper death certificates or the resources to navigate the system. The UDM calls on the Tshiamiso Trust, the mining companies concerned, government departments, traditional leaders, municipalities and civil society organisations to intensify outreach, especially in rural areas, so that every qualifying former mineworker and dependant is assisted to lodge and complete a claim. However, this matter cannot only be about compensation after harm has already been done. It must also be about prevention. Companies must place the health and safety of employees at the centre of how they do business. Workers are not disposable, and no industry should be allowed to generate profit while long-term health costs are shifted onto workers, families, public health systems and poor communities. The UDM calls on mining companies and all employers in high-risk industries to strengthen occupational health systems, conduct regular medical screening, maintain proper employment and health records, provide safe working environments, invest in prevention, and act immediately when workplace conditions place employees or surrounding communities at risk. Government must also strengthen oversight and enforcement to ensure that companies comply with occupational health, safety and environmental obligations in practice, not only on paper. The UDM welcomes the progress made, but insists that the work is not complete until every qualifying claimant has been reached, assisted and paid what is due to them. Looking ahead, South Africa must ensure that no worker or community is ever again forced to sacrifice their health in silence, only for justice to arrive decades too late.
