Former Mineworkers Receive Over R1 Million in Long-Unpaid Benefits

Kistnasamy said taking government services directly into communities has proved to be one of the most effective ways of helping beneficiaries access the money owed to them.

Hundreds of former mineworkers and their families in the Eastern Cape have finally received long-overdue financial support after the Department of Employment and Labour paid out more than R1.27 million during a week-long outreach programme in Port St Johns. The initiative forms part of Project Thubalethu, which is working to trace former mineworkers and their dependants who are still waiting for social protection benefits and compensation owed to them.

The outreach was organised in partnership with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), the Compensation Fund, the Eastern Cape Provincial Government and the Port St Johns Municipality, bringing essential government services directly to communities with large populations of former mineworkers.

Families receive long-awaited financial relief

During the outreach, the UIF paid R1,278,846.28 in benefits to 277 beneficiaries, providing much-needed financial assistance to former mineworkers and, in cases where they had passed away, to their dependants.

The department said many families had lived for years without receiving the support they were entitled to despite illness, workplace injuries or the loss of loved ones. In several cases, the former mineworkers died before their claims were processed, leaving their families to receive the benefits on their behalf.

Billions of rand still remain unclaimed

Commissioner for Occupational Diseases at the Medical Bureau for Occupational Diseases (MBOD) and the Compensation Commissioner for Occupational Diseases (CCOD), Barry Kistnasamy, said an estimated R18 million in benefits remains unclaimed by former mineworkers in the Port St Johns area alone.

Across South Africa, the amount of unpaid benefits owed to ex-mineworkers and their dependants is estimated at R10 billion. Kistnasamy said taking government services directly into communities has proved to be one of the most effective ways of helping beneficiaries access the money owed to them.

Project tackles the legacy of labour migration

Acting Director-General of the Department of Employment and Labour, Jacky Molisane, said Project Thubalethu addresses the lasting impact of South Africa's labour migration system, under which thousands of workers from rural areas, particularly the Eastern Cape, were recruited to work in the country's mines.

Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane noted that the province is home to around 370,000 former mineworkers, many of whom spent years working in hazardous underground conditions that exposed them to occupational diseases and workplace injuries. He said integrated outreach programmes play an important role in ensuring affected workers and their families finally receive the benefits they have earned.

Outreach extends beyond benefit payments

The programme also assisted with 319 work-related injury claims, while more than 400 job seekers were registered on the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) database and received employment counselling.

Labour inspectors also conducted workplace inspections in the wholesale and retail sector during the outreach. The inspections resulted in 11 non-compliance orders and 53 contravention notices being issued to employers for violations of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.