Pretoria: The Department of Employment and Labour has committed to strengthening collaboration and expanding outreach programmes to improve ex-mine workers' access to social security and compensation benefits, including an estimated R10 billion in outstanding claims. Acting Director-General Jacky Molisane emphasized the department's efforts to enhance access to services provided by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and the Compensation Fund (CF), in partnership with various stakeholders, to ensure former mine workers receive the dignity, support, and benefits they deserve.
According to South African Government News Agency, Molisane was addressing an ex-mineworkers' stakeholder session held at Port St Johns, Eastern Cape. The meeting aimed to resolve outstanding issues related to compensation claims and access to social security benefits for former mine workers. The session brought together the Department of Employment and Labour, the Eastern Cape provincial government led by Premier Oscar Mabuyane, the Compensation Fund, Rand Mutual Assurance, the National Department of Health, the South African Medical Association, and various stakeholders.
The initiative is part of a coordinated intervention to address historical injustices experienced by ex-mine workers. Discussions focused on strengthening coordination and mobilising resources for the Ex-Mineworkers Intervention Programme. The stakeholders' session concluded a week-long multidisciplinary government outreach campaign that brought services directly to communities in Port St Johns and surrounding areas.
Services included workplace inspections, processing UIF and Compensation Fund claims for occupational injuries and diseases, career counselling, and the registration of workseekers on the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) system. The Medical Bureau for Occupational Diseases (MBOD) and the Compensation Commissioner for Occupational Diseases (CCOD), Barry Kistnasamy, revealed that an estimated R10 billion in compensation claims remains unpaid to ex-mine workers nationwide.
The Eastern Cape Premier called for improved information sharing, expressing dissatisfaction with the inaccessibility of databases that hinder efforts to alleviate the suffering of ex-mine workers. Molisane acknowledged the contribution of various stakeholders, including the Office of the Premier, Rand Mutual Assurance, the Thubelisha Project, organised labour, and community structures, for their continued efforts to address the challenges facing ex-mine workers.
Molisane reiterated the significance of the Compensation Fund in supporting workers who suffered occupational injuries and diseases during their employment, while the UIF continues to provide unemployment, illness, maternity, dependants', and other qualifying benefits. Despite progress, Molisane noted significant challenges remain, including incomplete documentation, historical employment records, benefit tracing, and limited access to services. "These challenges require a collective response from government, social partners, and community stakeholders," she said.
According to Molisane, the Eastern Cape has contributed approximately 370,000 ex-mine workers to the national total of about one million since 1965, making it one of the provinces most affected by the legacy of labour migration. Many former mine workers have been exposed to occupational hazards such as silica dust, resulting in high rates of tuberculosis, silicosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis (black lung disease), other occupational lung diseases, workplace injuries, and fatalities.