Overview of the Claimants, Claims Criteria and Claims Process
Claimants
A Claimant is a person identified as such in the Settlement Agreement (Clause 1 (vii) of the Trust Deed). There is a closed list of Claimants which was determined at the time that the court case which lead to the creation of the Trust was settled. The Claimants were agreed to by the parties to the Settlement.
A closed list means that only the Claimants mentioned in the court settlement can apply for compensation. Therefore, the Trustees cannot consider applications from other mineworkers, even if they worked for a Qualifying Operation. The number of Claimants is 4365. They are mainly resident in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng and Lesotho.
Beneficiaries
The Beneficiaries of the Trust shall be the Qualifying Claimants and Qualifying Dependants for the life of the Trust (Clause 13 of the Trust Deed). A Claimant therefore must still meet the applicable criteria in order to qualify for compensation.
A Qualifying Claimant must:
- Lodge a claim within 3 years of the establishment of Trust, referred to as the Qualifying Claims Period.
- Have Qualifying Service which means at least two years in aggregate at one or more Qualifying Operations. Qualifying Operations means those shafts / operations that have been named in Annexure A to the Trust Deed.
(Clauses 6, 11 & 16 of the Trust Deed)
Compensation Categories & Awards
A Qualifying Claimant will only receive compensation if he is diagnosed with a Silica Related Disease. Compensation categories are as follows:
- C1: Silicotic, no impairment, with no pulmonary TB or massive fibrosis.
- C2: Silicotic, mild impairment – able to meet physical demands of most jobs, or no impairment with pulmonary TB or no impairment with massive fibrosis.
- C3: Silicotic, moderate impairment – diminished ability to meet physical demands of many jobs.
- C4: Silicotic, severe impairment – unable to meet physical demands of most jobs.
(Clause 17.1 of the Trust Deed)
The award schedule has been determined in accordance with the formula set out in Clause 17.2 of the Trust Deed. Compensation is paid out in 2 tranches, the first is when the Trust examines and diagnoses the Claimant with a Silica Related Disease, the second is after all Claimants have been medically examined and the Trustees are able to determine who all qualifies to receive compensation.
Claims Process
Medical Screening
- Claimants undergo the requisite medical tests at their nearest approved medical practitioner – the Trustees have set up a network of medical practitioners across the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng and Lesotho who provide these services.
- The medical records are assessed by a specialist panel of occupational health specialists (referred to as COMP), to determine whether the claimant meets the medical criteria and, if so, the compensation category, ie. C1, C2, C3 or C4.
- The Claimants will only be screened once for the purposes of claiming compensation from the Trust. If they have a Silica Related Disease they will receive compensation provided that the other criteria are met. If they do not have a Silica Related Disease, ie. C0 (ie. no silicosis), they will not be eligible to receive compensation.
- Where a Claimant died before being medically examined, all available medical information will be assessed to determine if he had a Silica Related Disease before he died.
Confirmation of Qualifying Service
Claims cannot be paid without proof of Qualifying Service which means at least two years in aggregate at one or more Qualifying Operations.
Payment of Claim
The beneficiary is paid on receipt of bank account details and confirmation of biometrics – payments are made directly into the beneficiaries’ bank account.