|
Johannesburg - Asbestosis sufferers and former employees of British asbestos mining company Cape Plc, in the Northern and the Northern Cape provinces would receive their first compensation payments by the end of June. This development comes after about 7 500 sufferers won P21 million in an out-of-court settlement against Cape in London last month. Richard Meeran, the lawyer representing the claimants, said a trust fund was to be established in South Africa which would make payments to those who could show they had suffered from asbestos related diseases as a result of working at, or living in the vicinity of, one of Cape’s former mining, milling, or manufacturing operations in South Africa. The premiers of the Northern Province and Northern Cape offered to make resources available to assist in the running of the administration of the trust. The claimants who launched the case were affected by asbestosis, a debilitating disease that attacks the lungs and makes it difficult to breath. The claimants were employed at Cape’s mines in Mafefe and Ga-Mathabathe in the Northern Province and in Prieska in the Northern Cape during the 1980s. Of the 7 500 claimants, about 300 people have since died as a result of the disease. “The trust scheme will be available to sufferers who were involved in the UK legal action and anyone else who can satisfy the trust conditions, including relatives of deceased victims of asbestos related diseases,” said Meeran. He added that individuals could expect first payments ranging from P700 to about P5 250 depending on the severity of the disease. The P21 million will not, however, be paid in one lump sum. “The first P11 million will be paid by the end of June and the second P10 million will be paid into the trust by Cape over a period of 10 years at a rate of P1 million a year,” he said. Meeran said they were confident the claimants would have won the trial, but said it would have led to Cape’s liquidation and therefore a loss for the claimants. “This would have been a hollow victory for the victims,” he said. “Even though we consider the claimants are likely to have been awarded considerably more than P21 million at trial, the award would not have been translated into real money. “Our objective was to obtain the best possible settlement achievable under the circumstances and to secure a meaningful settlement.” Meeran said he would be coming to South Africa next week to meet with claimants and explain how the trust would work. |