Miners to fight class suit
IN FIRING LINE: EXXARO, ANGLO AMERICAN, GLENCORE AND SOUTH32
Seeks redress for tens of thousands of workers affected by coal dust disease.
Coal mining groups have vowed to defend the class action suit filed against them last year by human rights law firm Richard Spoor Incorporated (RSI), which is seeking redress for tens of thousands of former and current coal miners afflicted by coal dust diseases.
The four mining groups cited in the court papers are Exxaro, Anglo American, Glencore and South32, which includes BHP Billiton and Seriti Power. All four have filed notices of intention to defend. Anglo American’s coal mines were hived off and separately listed on the JSE under Thungela Resources in 2021.
The first step in bringing the action involves four applications to the court to certify the miners as a class, which would allow for a more streamlined legal process with the same set of facts being argued on behalf of thousands of current and former miners.
It is this certification process that is being opposed by the mining groups, which have until 2 September to file their affidavits with the high court.
RSI has identified roughly 1 500 miners to be part of the class, though thousands of other former and current coal miners will be presumed to be part of the legal action unless they specifically opt out.
There is a fear that a protracted legal process lasting several years will result in miners dying off due to the diseases they contracted in the mines. RSI said three of the miners represented in its class action suit have died since the action was launched.
RSI was the law firm behind the silicosis class action suit against more than 30 gold mining companies, which resulted in a R5 billion settlement for surviving or deceased mineworkers who contracted silicosis from working in the mines.
Failure to protect
In the latest case, RSI alleged that the mining companies knew of the dangers posed to coal miners by coal dust but failed to protect them from toxic levels of exposure.
The lawsuit seeks to hold the mining companies accountable by compensating victims who developed lung diseases, and families of workers who lost their lives. It is also alleged that the mining companies failed to implement necessary and statutory safety measures, resulting in miners contracting coal mine dust lung diseases (CMDLD) such as pneumoconiosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Precedent
“In our historic R5 billion settlement in the silicosis case, an estimated 15 000 to 500 000 gold miners were part of the class action,” said RSI director George Kahn.
“If the coal class action follows a similar trajectory, the number of affected workers could potentially be in the hundreds of thousands again.”
If the class actions are certified by the courts, two classes will be represented in each company’s case:
The mining groups have until 2 September to file their affidavits
Current and former coal mine workers who contracted CMDLD due to exposure to excessive levels of coal mine dust; and
Dependants of deceased former coal mine workers, whose deaths were likely attributable to CMDLD.