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The regulations governing mining in South Africa are in desperate need of revision. This was brought to the fore again last week with the deaths and arrests of “zama-zama” artisanal mine workers and was underlined by word that government is seriously contemplating a new compensation regime for mine workers.
Those who died and those who were arrested are generally referred to as “illegal mine workers”.
What they were doing is against the current law, but since their actions didn’t harm anyone but themselves, and since they did not steal from anyone, in a strict sense, no crime was committed.
What we have, in fact, is a case of criminalising an act of entrepreneurship. And to be entrepreneurial is hailed almost across the board as a most desirable trait.
Even the Chamber of Mines admits that the zama-zamas are both ingenious and “extremely enterprising”.
By criminalising artisanal mining, these mine workers are driven into the hands of criminal syndicates, often fronted by “respectable” business.
And they are paid a pittance for their back-breaking and dangerous labour.
Invariably, retrenched mine workers, often from neighbouring countries, are usually driven by poverty to risk life and limb.
They also form part of hundreds of thousands of workers who, at some stage, laboured underground to bring out the coal, platinum and gold that have made fortunes for the mining moguls.
A high proportion, perhaps as much as half, will in future succumb to one of the diseases endemic to mining, such as silicosis and tuberculosis. And it is here that government is belatedly trying to improve matters.
While the motivation may be admirable, the suggestions for how such improvements should be made are extremely worrying.
Because the apparent intention now is to have all workers covered by what is generally known as “workmen’s compensation”.
This is administered by the Compensation Commission under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (Coida).
Unlike the current system covering mine workers — the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act — Coida provides for lifetime compensation for occupational injury or disease.
This is certainly preferable.
But as a senior labour lawyer notes, the Compensation Commission is “wholly dysfunctional”.
In fact, it is in much the same position it was in 12 years ago when Solomon Silinda died in agony on a bench at the Ga-Rankuwa Hospital on June 16 2004, after waiting unsuccessfully for three years for compensation.
The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) took his case to court to demand that mechanisms be put in place to pay out thousands of claims for work-related injuries, some of which had been delayed for up to 10 years.
The LRC won, but only after Silinda had died.
That victory meant little, because not much has changed.
And now it is proposed that mine workers be added to the numbers covered by Coida.
An additional problem is that mine owners increasingly outsource actual mining to contractors.
As the employers, contracting companies would have to foot the compensation bill in mines where the conditions of work are determined by the owners.
It looks very much like a disaster in the making.
