Former mineworkers paid millions as more families urged to check
MTHATHA — Former mineworkers and eligible families are being urged to check for unclaimed benefits after an outreach programme paid more than R42 million in compensation and benefits across the Eastern Cape. The Department of Employment and Labour says the programme will continue nationwide, allowing qualifying workers and surviving dependants to come forward.
The payments followed a 41 day outreach programme that began in Port St Johns on 13 July. Through Project Ithubalethu and the provincial Ex-Mineworkers’ Programme, officials have been helping former workers and their families access unpaid compensation, social security benefits and other statutory claims. Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth and Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane welcomed the disbursements.
For some households, the claims concern benefits linked to relatives who have since died. Meth said the programme was assisting elderly and frail former mineworkers, as well as beneficiaries who had lost husbands and fathers to occupational diseases, including silicosis and tuberculosis. The department paid R1.4 million on the programme’s first day, with the provincial total subsequently exceeding R42 million.
The outreach brought several services together so that claimants could receive assistance closer to their communities. During engagements in Mthatha, mobile Unemployment Insurance Fund and Compensation Fund units processed claims on site, while officials met former mineworkers and beneficiaries to hear their concerns and assess the services being provided.
Health screening, identity document services, social security assistance and work seeker registration for beneficiaries were also available. This broadened the support beyond the processing of compensation claims, bringing health, employment and administrative services into the same outreach programme.
A roundtable at the Mthatha Health Resource Centre at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital brought together the provincial government, the departments of Employment and Labour and Health, representatives of former mineworkers, Rand Mutual Assurance and the South African Medical Association. Participants discussed experiences from the programme and reviewed progress across the province.
Mabuyane, who worked as a mineworker in his youth, said the initiative carried personal significance. He thanked the teams assisting communities and said the provincial government remained committed to securing redress for former mineworkers. Meth described the payments as part of efforts to restore dignity to workers who had contributed to the country’s economy.
The department said the initiative is a continuing programme. Mobile offices and processing teams will maintain a presence in targeted Eastern Cape districts, while the broader programme continues nationally.
Former mineworkers and eligible family members or dependants should visit their nearest Labour Centre or Department of Employment and Labour service point to enquire about benefits, register and process claims. The R42 million represents payments already made; families who believe they may qualify are being encouraged to establish whether benefits remain unclaimed in their own cases.
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