South Africa Celebrations Over Ruling For Gold Miners

Jubilant family members and miners' supporters outside the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on May 13, 2016 after the judge allowed a class action against mining companies over the respiratory disease silicosis. Image credit: BBC

A lawyer representing miners (C) speaks to journalists outside the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on May 13, 2016, after the judge allowed a class action against mining companies over the respiratory disease silicosis ©Mujahid Safodien (AFP)

Families of former mine workers and their supporters cheered when they heard that the court had ruled in favour of their class action.

BBC Africa Live report continues:

The ex-miners say they contracted silicosis, an incurable lung disease, after years of working in the mines. 

The ruling means that more than 40 lawyers, representing hundreds of former and current mine workers, can launch a joint case against gold mining companies.

Silicosis, caused by inhaling the silica dust in gold-bearing rocks, can lead to breathing difficulties, regular coughing and chest pains, and it can also lead to tuberculosis.

Gruelling Tales Behind South African Miners' Class Action

Dangerous working conditions, scant safety standards, inhumane living quarters and violent racism -- South African gold miners endured decades of hardship underground, AFP reports.

Their stories were laid bare on Friday when a court ruled that up to 500,000 miners and their families could pursue a class-action suit against their employers over silicosis, a fatal respiratory disease contracted from breathing in dust underground.

Here are four first-person testimonies contained in the ruling:

-- BONGANI NKALA led the legal battle to allow the class-action suit. He was diagnosed with silicosis in June 2012.

"Blasting underground created a lot of dust and much of it remained in the workplace, even after the walls were sprayed with water, as we could still see it, as well as taste and smell it.

"I was never provided with any respiratory equipment. I inhaled all the dust I was exposed to.

"I had to walk eight kilometres (five miles) through the tunnels underground to get to my workspace.

"The dust would settle in our hair, face and clothes while we worked."

-- BANGUMZI BENNET BALAKAZI started working in the mines in 1974 aged 21 and stopped in 1999. He has tuberculosis and silicosis.

"It was very painful for me to leave my village to work on a mine far away from home. However I wanted to provide for me and my family.

"I cannot remember anything being said about dust and the need at all times to protect oneself against it.

"My daily routine started at 3:00 am in the morning, when we were woken up by a siren.

"Once down underground, it was hot and humid.

"The heat made it impractical to wear masks all the time. The hot conditions underground also made it very difficult for me to breathe with the mask on. Over time, the mask became so dusty that I could no longer use it.

"Soon after the blasting had finished, miners returned to the blasted area almost immediately, whilst the area was still full of dust.

"The white miners only returned to the blast area after most of the dust had settled.

"I was treated very badly by the white miners and supervisors.

"They often kicked or beat us with their fists. I was constantly being referred to as a 'kaffir'."

-- WATU LIVINGSTONE DALA lived in a dormitory with 15 other miners. He was made unemployed in 2007 at the age of 45, and suffers from silicosis.

"I became a winch driver. I was responsible for cleaning rocks from underground slopes and gullies, after rock blasts. As a result, my job constantly put me in direct contact with dust and heat.

"Sometimes, you could barely see in front of you. The dust was also suffocating and got stuck in our noses and ears.

"I remember being told by our supervisors that we should only make sure to wear the masks when there were... safety representatives inspecting the mine.

"Mine management was only concerned with us having to work all the time. We worked like slaves."

-- MALEBURU REGINA LEBITSA'S husband died in 2010 aged 55. He worked in the gold mines from 1972 to 1998.

"My late husband left work on the mines when his former employer found that he was medically incapacitated and that he was no longer able to perform his duties.

"When he returned home from the mines his health deteriorated and, as he became weaker, his ability to support his family was severely undermined.

"Along with thousands of other mineworkers, (he) had contracted silicosis as a result of their employment."