The Tshiamiso Trust has urged all former gold mineworkers and their families to check if they are eligible to lodge a claim to be compensated for permanent lung damage from silicosis or work-related tuberculosis (TB).

The Eastern Cape province holds the highest concentration of Tshiamiso Trust claim lodgements and payments in South Africa, with a total of R516-million already paid to 5 443 eligible beneficiaries from the province and many more set to potentially benefit. 

Tshiamiso Trust CEO Dr Munyadziwa Kwinda said on November 26 that it was important to reach out to all remaining eligible claimants.

"We urge all former mineworkers, or their families where a mineworker has passed away, to lodge their claims at their nearest Teba office. Time is of the essence and we want to ensure that we afford an opportunity to all eligible claimants to lodge and receive the compensation that is due to them,” he said.

To lodge a claim, mineworkers must have carried out risk work at one of the qualifying gold mines during the qualifying periods between March 12, 1965, and December 10, 2019.

Also, living mineworkers must have permanent lung impairment from silicosis or TB that they contracted while doing risk work at these mines.

Further, for deceased mineworkers, there must either be evidence that they died from work-related TB within a year of leaving the mine if it’s a TB claim, or there must be evidence that they had silicosis or died from silicosis if it is a silicosis claim.

Claimants are encouraged to ensure that the Tshiamiso Trust has their latest contact details and that they have submitted all the required documentation, especially documents that prove the medical cause of death for deceased mineworkers.

The trust reiterates that the lack of updated contact information and the required documentation is preventing many claims from progressing and requires urgent intervention.

“The Tshiamiso Trust is deeply concerned about the inability to contact claimants in the Eastern Cape. Currently, we have over 1 400 former mineworkers who urgently need to be scheduled for benefit medical examinations (BMEs) with our medical service provider there.

“BMEs are crucial to determine the presence of a qualifying disease and the extent of lung damage if the mineworker has a qualifying disease. We are also struggling to reach many claimants who need to submit additional documentation.

“When claimants change their contact numbers after lodging their claims without updating the trust, it creates a significant barrier, preventing us from providing essential updates on their claims and hindering necessary verifications during the payment stage,” Kwinda said.

For more information and to check eligibility, affected parties can contact the Tshiamiso Trust through one of the following channels:

1. Phone the call centre on 080 100 0240
2. Send a “Please call me” to 072 557 8077
3. Chat on WhatsApp on 00 27 78 504 9004 (select option 12 from the menu)
4. Send the Tshiamiso Trust a message on Facebook at @silicosissettlement
5. Email info@tshiamisotrust.com
6. Visit a nearby Teba office in person. However, it should be noted that the Teba office in Komani, formerly Queenstown, will close permanently on November 30.