Sunday Tribune reports that former coal mine workers in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), who are suffering from silicosis, are planning a class-action lawsuit against a company that allegedly forced them to work in unsafe working conditions.  

A group of men from the Verdriet and KwaMdakane villages near the town of Danhauser were employed at the Durnacol Coal Mine for many years.  While working there, they contracted silicosis, a lung disease caused by inhaling mine dust.  One of the victims, Tau Mokoena, claimed he contracted a lung disease during his 16 years of employment at Durnacol.  Mokoena, who has to use a wheelchair and also suffers with arthritis, had been a National Union of Mineworkers shop steward.  Human rights lawyer Richard Spoor has taken up the fight on behalf of the mineworkers.  Thamsanqa Malusi, an associate of Spoor’s, confirmed they were screening both current and former mineworkers across the country.  He said they planned to sue 10 coal mining companies and their subsidiaries and indicated:  “The plan is to sue the mining companies for pneumoconiosis or black lung disease, that mineworkers contracted.”  He added that they were also in a legal battle with the Sasol Group, which was at an advanced stage, and they planned to challenge the Anglo Group and Exxaro (formerly known as Kumba Resources) in the near future.

• Read the full original of this report by Nkululeko Nene at Sunday Tribune

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