The Tshiamiso Trust, created to settle silicosis and tuberculosis (TB) class action suits against six mining companies, has started a process of responding to 12 000 claimants on the outcome of their claims following a backlog of up to eight months for claims lodged before April 2021.

The trust covers cases of silicosis or TB in miners from 82 affected mines of Africa Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American South Africa, AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Sibanye-Stillwater and Gold Fields, through the periods of March 12, 1965, to December 10, 2019.

In a statement, the trust says that as it matured and improved its systems and processes, it has now come to the point where it can provide individuals with “comprehensive information and reasons” on their outcomes, particularly where the claimant was found to be medically ineligible.

In addition, the trust needs to ensure that it verifies all decisions made by the medical certification panel as part of its internal quality assurance process.

However, recently the trust experienced delays in informing individuals of the outcome of their claims owing to high numbers of cases, the complex processing of claims and verification checks.

“We apologise unreservedly to all claimants for the unusually long wait experienced for notification of the outcome of their claims,” says Tshiamiso Trust CEO Daniel Kotton.

He adds that the trust has worked hard to improve its processes and systems so that it can give feedback more quickly.

“As a result, from November 2021, we have ensured that individuals lodging claims for the first time receive regular updates on the progress of their claims and timeous feedback on the outcome.”

As such, Kotton claims the trust can inform between 120 and 140 individuals of the results of their claims, daily.

Since it was established, the trust has awarded thousands of compensation payouts. Out of 153 906 registered claims with the trust, 76 488 lodgements have been made, and 31 564 benefit medical examinations have been conducted.

Currently, the trust pays an average of between 30 to 40 claims, to the value of R3-million, a day.

“We understand that the compensation of mineworkers is a sensitive and important issue. Each case is unique; we approach every case with due care and diligence to ensure a fair outcome.

“As a result of this commitment, the announcement of these ineligible claims was delayed, as many of the claims were reviewed a second time to ensure that the correct outcome had been reached.,” he explains.

Further, Kotton says the trust is looking at ways to accelerate access to the record of services held by the qualifying mines to improve the claims compensation system and fully automate all possible scenarios, improving turnaround times. 

CASE INELIGIBILITY

Claimants can call the trust’s call centre to find out why their claims were found to be ineligible by phoning 0801 000 240 in South Africa, 00 27 10 500 6186 outside South Africa, or emailing info@tshiamisotrust.com.

Any claimants who are dissatisfied with the outcome of their claim have access to an appeal process where they can appeal their decision. Dissatisfied claimants can initiate the appeal process by calling the call centre. 

Claimants can be found ineligible at three points in the process. They may be found ineligible at the lodgement stage. This means that the claimant may not have done risk work, they did not work during the period covered by the Trust or they did not work at one of the six qualifying mining companies or at the 82 qualifying mines.

Claimants can also be found ineligible at the medical certification stage. This means that the claimant is not medically eligible because they do not have a compensable disease (silicosis or work-related TB) or that the individual doesn’t have permanent lung damage resulting from a qualifying disease. 

In addition, a claimant can be found to be ineligible at the trust certification stage for reasons such as insufficient cumulative risk work or not working at a qualifying mine for the required period.