Zim Wenela workers can now claim for Silicosis, TB in compensation deal

Former Witwatersrand Native Labour Association (WNLA) members in Zimbabwe who contracted silicosis or work-related tuberculosis (TB) while working in South African gold mines can now apply for compensation.

This development follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Tshiamiso Trust and the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) Wednesday in Harare to make it easier for eligible mineworkers and their families  to access compensation within the country.

 The Tshiamiso Trust was established to implement and fulfil terms of the historic silicosis and TB class action settlement agreement that was reached on 3 May 2018 and approved by the South Gauteng High Court on 26 July 2019.

The WNLA, commonly known as Wenela, was established in 1901 by South African mining companies to recruit cheap labour from across Southern Africa, including Zimbabwe. 

Thousands of Zimbabwean men were contracted under harsh conditions to work in South Africa’s gold mines, where they were exposed to dust, long working hours, and poor living conditions that left many suffering from silicosis and tuberculosis.

In an interview with CITE on Thursday in Bulawayo after the MOU signing in Harare, Tshiamiso Trust Executive Stakeholder Relations and Communications, Lusanda Jiya, said the Trust was established specifically to give effect to a settlement agreement of a class action where the gold mining industry was sued.

Six of the mining companies  – African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American South Africa, AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Sibanye Stillwater and Gold Fields agreed to pay compensation during the qualifying period of March 1965 to December 2019.

“The MOU signed yesterday marks an agreement between Tshiamiso Trust and the Government of Zimbabwe, allowing the Trust to begin offering services to former gold miners in Zimbabwe who meet the specific conditions of the Tshiamiso Trust settlement,” Jiya said.

“These miners will now be able to register their claims and undergo medical examinations to access compensation for permanent lung damage caused by silicosis and work-related tuberculosis.”

The Zimbabwean government will play a ‘key’ role as legislator, service provider and regulator to make sure citizens have access to proper documentation required to lodge their claims with the Trust.

Jiya said the Tshiamiso Trust also appointed Baines Occupational Health Services as its local service provider to lodge claims and conduct medical benefit examinations in Zimbabwe.

“They were appointed in 2024 already and over the past few months we have worked closely with them as the service provider to ensure that the pre-training and all the systems are in place to start. As of November, we will now be able to commence services, which is what the MOU  represents.”

She said claimants need to provide identification documents and work numbers when claiming although the Trust can assist in retrieving these records.

“Dependents of the mine workers lodging claims on behalf of the deceased mine workers have to submit death certificates, death notices, that will show us the cause of death to support the claim,” Jiya said.

Jiya explained that in some cases, medical records may be accepted to prove that a mineworker died with silicosis even if it was not the cause of death, “it’s just one dependent class B  that can do that.”

“From the start of the Trust, we were given service records and databases from the mining companies and ex-mine workers lawyers, however those databases are not necessarily complete,” she said.

“We are very mindful that documents were only digitised later in life and therefore we do our best as the Trust to assist mine workers to trace records. But we have to start somewhere so there must be some basic documentation from a mine worker that will help us to assist them.”

Jiya said the Trust has established clear communication channels with ex-mine workers’ associations to make sure information reaches affected members.

“The Trust has 10 compensation classes covering TB and silicosis, for both living and deceased claimants. The compensation amount is determined by two key factors: whether one has a qualifying disease and the extent of their lung damage,” she said.

She added that once-off payments range from R12 000 to R560 000.

“A member or a claimant who has been found to be  medically illegible now  who may later develop the disease because silicosis specifically, could develop later, can come back and make a second claim,’ Jiya said.

She said that benefit amounts can be adjusted annually in line with inflation.

“Which means that we are looking to make sure that they don’t  lose value, so those amounts will shift a little bit every year when you look at them, they will have gone up.”

She clarified that the Trust does not cover insurance, pension, provident funds, NGOs, or any other diseases outside silicosis and work-related TB.

 Jiya said the Trust and the Zimbabwean government, through NSSA, will hold regular meetings and share reports to track progress as part of the accountability and transparency efforts.

“In reality the Trust’s work is  transparent to anybody. If you go to our website at 2 am everyday, we upload information that tells you how many claims we have processed. The Trust itself has its own internal and external auditors that track our process,” she said.

She added that claimants can check the progress of their claims by contacting the Trust through its call centre.

“The Tshiamiso Trust was established to run for the period of 12 years that ended in December 12, 2031, this is why we are so eager to get started.”

Jiya lamented that some mineworkers passed away before they could claim their benefits.

“This represents a lost opportunity for us, as we can work most effectively when the mine worker is alive. We’ve had cases where a worker, after being awarded a claim, ends up in prison and cannot receive the money.”

To date, the Trust has paid over R2.4 billion to more than 24 000 ex-mine workers across the SADC region including South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, Eswatini, and Botswana and hopes to extend services to Malawi.

“We do not have a target number in Zimbabwe, so do not assume that you cannot benefit, if you worked in a qualifying mine, doing risk work, during the qualifying period, please do step forward and check if you are eligible. Also, the Trust process is free, you do not have to pay anyone to help you process your claim with the Trust,” said Jiya.