We can finally ensure 500,000 miners are paid out for silicosis and TB — here’s the problem
Nearly half a million miners are owed compensation for silicosis and tuberculosis claims but getting the money to them and their families is still a hard journey.
Nearly half a million miners are owed compensation for silicosis and tuberculosis claims, but delivering the money to them and their families remains a significant challenge. The migrant labour system that built South Africa's gold economy created a one-way flow of value, pulling workers into the Witwatersrand goldfields and sending them home when their health deteriorated.
The compensation they were owed has remained stranded on the wrong side of borders, with the Tshiamiso Trust created in 2019 providing the first steps towards addressing this issue. However, only about 23,000 of the 500,000 potential claimants have been paid, and the remaining claims face obstacles due to a missing legal segment in the system.
Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Maverick's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
