‘Botswana NGO mobilises ex-miners against S/Africa companies’ 13 June 2019

A Botswana non-governmental organisation (NGO) is calling upon former mine workers to register with it so that it can facilitate their payments from mining companies in South Africa, APA learnt here Thursday.In a statement, Botswana Labour Migration Association (BoLAMA) said it would like to assist Botswana nationals who suffered health complications after working for South African mining firms for several years. “We call on all ex-mine-workers who previously worked for South African mining companies and contracted occupational lung diseases to reach out to BoLAMA for more information,” the organisation said. According to the association, the Johannesburg High Court in South Africa issued an interim order in December 2018 which set pre-conditions for approval of the proposed settlement by mining companies and legal representatives of the ex-miners.

The ex-miners had taken the mining companies to court seeking compensation for having contracted the lung diseases. The association said it would also trace the names of all ex-miners who died in the mines and facilitate their compensation and repatriation of benefits to their families.