Anglo American, coal producers to be slapped with class action over miners' lung diseases

"I'm very happy that Richard Spoor Inc is taking on this class action suit because the mine doesn't care about us! You work and you work and then when you become sick, they don't care. And you end up sitting at home. They don't even compensate you; you just get service compensation," said Ntombi Mahlangu, a former mineworker at Anglo American-owned mines.

Source: Pexels

The class action suit, which includes working and retired women and men mineworkers, was filed in the Gauteng Local Division’s High Court in mid-October. The class suit has been brought against nine mining companies owned by the Anglo American group. The companies listed as defendants include Thungela’s Operations and Resources divisions, Rietvlei Mining, Mafube coal mining, Butsanani Energy Investment Holdings and South Africa Coal Operations.

Some of the diseases that the mineworkers have suffered and continue to suffer from include coal workers' pneumoconiosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as a result of coal-mine dust exposure.

Read the full article by Onke Ngcuka at Daily Maverick.