Working group statements

Johannesburg, 21 September 2016: The six companies that are members of the Occupational Lung Disease Working Group note the decisions this week of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to grant their petitions for leave to appeal against all aspects of the class certification judgment of the South Gauteng High Court delivered in May.

Johannesburg, 25 July 2016 : The six mining companies which form the Occupational Lung Disease Working Group fully and actively support the work being done by the national departments of Mineral Resources and Health to ensure that former mineworkers are able to claim all the benefits to which they are entitled.

Johannesburg, 19 July 2016 - The class action that is being brought against current and former gold-mining companies on behalf of mine workers with silicosis and tuberculosis (TB) is a first of its kind. It is the first time anywhere in the world that an entire industry has been sued, rather than a single defendant.

Johannesburg, 15 July 2016 – The six companies that are members of the Occupational Lung Disease Working Group today each filed petitions to the Supreme Court of Appeal for leave to appeal against the class action certification judgment delivered in the South Gauteng High Court on 13 May.

Johannesburg, 24 June 2016 - The South Gauteng High Court today granted mining companies leave to appeal against a finding amending the common law in respect of general damages claims. It refused leave to appeal on the certification of silicosis and TB classes. The application for leave to appeal arose from a judgment delivered on 13 May 2016.

Johannesburg, 23 June 2016 -The Occupational Lung Disease Working Group, made up of African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American SA, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony and Sibanye Gold, remains of the view that achieving a mutually acceptable comprehensive settlement which is both fair to past, present and future employees, and sustainable for the sector, is preferable to protracted litigation.

Johannesburg, 10 June 2016 - The compensation summit convened last month by the country’s deputy ministers of health, labour, and mineral resources was a critical step towards the establishment of a single integrated compensation system that meets the highest standards.

Johannesburg, 3 June 2016 - The Occupational Lung Disease Working Group, made up of African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American SA, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony and Sibanye Gold, confirm that the companies have filed individual applications to appeal against the class certification judgment handed down by the South Gauteng High Court on 13 May 2016.

Johannesburg, 20 May 2016 - The mining companies party to the working group dealing with matters of compensation and health care regarding occupational lung disease have taken an active part in the Compensation Summit convened by the Ministers of Health and Labour and the Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources on 19 and 20 May 2016.

Johannesburg, 13 May 2016 - The companies are studying the court’s decision. Each company is yet to decide whether to lodge an appeal against the finding.

Johannesburg, 22 March 2016 - South Africa’s gold mining industry is the foundation on which the country’s economic wealth has been built over more than a century.