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           S. African Workers Get Green Light to Sue Mining Companies

   by VOA News

   Thousands of South African miners were given the green light Friday by
   their High Court to pursue a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit
   against mining companies for respiratory illnesses contracted at work.

   "We hold the view that in the context of this case, class action is the
   only realistic option through which most mine workers can assert their
   claims effectively against the mining companies," Judge Phineas
   Mojapelo told the High Court in Johannesburg Friday. "Mining companies
   will be held liable or responsible for their own actions for unlawful
   emissions."

   The unanimous ruling by a three-judge bench allows for miners to sue
   about 30 companies for damages after contracting silicosis from
   dangerous underground working conditions dating back decades.

   Silicosis, which has no known cure, is caused by inhaling silica dust
   while drilling rock. The dust lodges in the lungs, causing permanent
   scars, persistent coughing, and shortness of breath. The disease leads
   of an increased risk for tuberculosis.

   The case, brought by 56 former miners, could cost the gold industry
   hundreds of millions of dollars, according to analysts. Judge Mojapelo
   also indicated that families of workers who had died of the disease
   could be eligible to claim damages.

   A landmark 2011 ruling by the Constitutional Court allowing
   lung-diseased miners to sue employers for damages allowed these class
   action suits to be filed - a case with otherwise little precedent in
   South Africa.

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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/south-african-workers-given-green-lig
   ht-to-sue-mining-companies/3328767.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/south-african-workers-given-green-light-to-sue-mining-companies/3328767.html