Union says compensation programme for sick miners long overdue
A mineworkers' union says compensation for former miners who were forced to quit their jobs when they became sick was long overdue.
The National Union of Mineworkers was reacting to the programme being rolled out by the Health Department to screen and pay benefits to miners who contracted TB or the lung disease silicosis.
The programme kicked off in KZN on Monday.
Workers who were employed by certain mines between March 1965 and December 2019, and who were released from their jobs due to health complications without compensation, have been asked to come forward.
The union's Masibulele Naki says while they appreciate the move, families have been waiting for this for a long time.
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"For some of the beneficiaries are their spouse or children, so this process is happening now and many people have lost hope and many have already departed because of the long process."
