South African human rights lawyer Richard Spoor announced yesterday that he had filed a class action against global mining companies South32, BHP Billiton and Seriti Power, seeking legal remedies for sick miners and the families of workers who died due to coal mine dust lung disease (CMDLD) in the form of pneumoconiosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Spoor filed the class action in the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Local Division, and he said this application for certification of a class action seeks recourse for current and former coal miners, as well as dependants of deceased workers who contracted the illness.
The applicants seek to hold South32, BHP Billiton PLC, and Seriti Power responsible for actions from March 12, 1965, to the present. The proposed applicant classes include Current and former coal miners who contracted CMDLD in the form of pneumoconiosis (with or without COPD).
“Current and former coal miners who contracted COPD after working in a South32, BHP Billiton PLC, and Seriti Power. Dependants of coal miners who have died due to the illness. The applicants argue that South32, BHP Billiton PLC, and Seriti Power breached the legal duties owed to the miners by failing to implement statutorily mandated procedures and protections. As a result, the miners developed incurable lung diseases,” Spoor said.
He said this class action was a first step toward obtaining justice for all coal miners who had suffered, often without any form of compensation.
“If approved by the court, the litigation will cover coal mine workers and dependants from many regions and rural communities given that miners often travel from afar to gain employment. The case was initiated by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference,” Spoor said.
According to Spoor, every breath could be a struggle in the life of a coal miner suffering from CMDLD.
“In exchange for backbreaking work that has generated enormous wealth for more than a century, miners far too often walk away with incurable lung diseases that require life-long treatments they cannot afford. Many have tragically lost their lives,” he said.
Spoor said that there was a long and difficult road ahead for miners who were already paying a heavy price for their labour.
“While compensation will not restore their health, we seek justice for those whose work has sent them home bearing the high cost of coal on their bodies,” Spoor said.
According to Spoor, Motley Rice, one of the largest plaintiffs' litigation firms in the US, is supporting the workers’ legal team as consultants.
“The litigation comes roughly five years after the two firms negotiated the historic class action settlement for injured workers in Nkala and Others v Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited and Others.
"In that matter, gold mine workers and their families were compensated after contracting silicosis caused by occupational exposure to silica dust in gold mines,“ he said.
US-based litigator Michael Elsner, leading the coal litigation for Motley Rice, said: “Motley Rice attorneys have been working on behalf of injured workers for over 50 years and on behalf of sick workers in Africa for over a decade. We are proud to share our experience to assist coal miners and their families in their fight for justice in South Africa.”
One of the applicants, Maiwana Jan Nkosi, 65, who worked in a mine between 1981 and 2016, was diagnosed with Coal Mine Dust Lung Disease in 2020.
“I experience constant chest pain. At night I have to sleep in a particular position to try to relieve the chest pain. My coughing and wheezing sometimes wake me up at night. When I walk quickly it feels like my chest is blocked, and I must stop and rest for a while. When I walk up an incline, I experience chest pain and can only walk very slowly. I often run out of breath.
“The impact this illness has had on myself and my family has led to my inability to work after leaving the mine. My breathing is laboured, and I am not able to do physical work. Maintaining a job in my condition would be near impossible,” Nkosi said.
BUSINESS REPORT