De zwarte keerzijde van goudwinning!
100000 sick miners take 32 South African gold miners to court
Published on Wed, 14 Oct 2015 104 times viewed
Deutsche Welle reported South Africa has always been known for its lucrative gold mines. In the process Johannesburg even became known as the City of Gold. But not all that glitters is gold, as miners have found out at a cost.
The case of South African current and ex-mineworkers who contracted tuberculosis and silicosis-a degenerative lung disease linked to exposure to silica dust in gold mines-working in the country's gold mines, resumed at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Monday. The case was first filled in 2012. 56 of the estimated 100,000 miners are persuading the court to allow them to institute a class action lawsuit against 32 gold mining companies. On Monday, legal representatives of the miners addressed the court, while those representing the gold mines will state their after the 14th of October.
Mining came at a huge cost for mineworkers. Over the years, 100,000 of them contracted silicosis, TB and other respiratory diseases. Miners in South Africa are said to have the highest rates of TB infection in the world, ranging between 3,000 and 7,000 per 100,000 people. This is four and seven times higher than the general population of South Africa, the country with the second highest TB rates in the world.
Richard Spoor, the attorney representing the miners, says because the future of these miners was totally destroyed, a class action is therefore the only way to ensure all the affected miners and their families are compensated.
South Africa's mine industry has suffered several setbacks ranging from sinking commodity prices, rising costs and labor unrest, forcing a number of companies into mine closures and layoffs. In August, South Africa's mining industry, unions and the government committed to a broad plan to stem job losses, including boosting platinum by promoting the metal as a central bank reserve asset. The mining industry contributes around seven percent of South Africa's GDP.
Source : Deutsche Welle