Working group statements

Do not pay to register for Silicosis Settlement benefits

Johannesburg, 5 December 2019 – The parties that have reached agreement to settle the silicosis and TB class action in the gold mining industry are concerned to have learned that some potential beneficiaries, especially in the Eastern Cape, are being misled about how they can register an interest for compensation from the settlement fund, called the Tshiamiso Trust. It is also concerning that people are being asked for payment to register by certain individuals, including ex-mineworker associations and are paying these associations to travel to Johannesburg to do so.

It is dishonest for anyone to promise an ex-mineworker or current mineworker or their family members that they will receive compensation from the Tshiamiso Trust. Only the Tshiamiso Trust will be able to decide if a claim meets the criteria for compensation and it is only the Tshiamiso Trust that can process claims. The Tshiamiso Trust will communicate the claim lodgement process to potential claimants through various media and other channels in early 2020 and we urge people to be patient.

Anyone who makes promises of payment from the Tshiamiso Trust in order to persuade people to pay them money are not allowed to do so and are not officials of the Tshiamiso Trust.

These are the only three simple ways to register:

1. Visit https://www.silicosissettlement.co.za/register
2. Call the call centre at 080 1000 240; or
3. Send a “please call me” to 072 557 8077 and we will call you back.

There is no need for potential beneficiaries to pay for this assistance - it will be provided freely. The Tshiamiso Trust will contact everyone who has registered in early 2020.

We call on radio stations and newspapers, particularly in the Eastern Cape, to share this information with their listeners and readers.

The parties to the settlement agreement are:
The claimants’ attorneys, being Richard Spoor Attorneys, Abrahams Kiewitz Attorneys and the Legal Resources Centre, in the silicosis and TB class action litigation; and the companies that are members of the Occupational Lung Disease Working Group - African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American SA, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony and Sibanye-Stillwater.

For further information contact:

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