My mother applied to the Tshiamo Trust after my dad died, but three years later she has just been told she can’t. Please help!

The long answer

Tshiamo Trust says, “It should be noted, however, that a claim for a mineworker who died before 10 December 2019 will only be eligible if the main cause of death is attributed to silicosis or TB, or there is an approved ODMWA certificate or other exceptions.”

An ODMWA certificate, under the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act (ODMWA) is a document that certifies a miner or ex-miner has a lung disease contracted due to their work in the mining industry that can be compensated.

On 30 August 2024, TimesLive reported that about 19,000 claims had been paid by the Tshiamiso Trust to date, but that only 2,613 (14%) of the 19,000 had been paid for deceased mineworkers. This could be because the deceased mineworker's claims needed to be proved by autopsies if there were no medical reports.

If your mother was told that her claim was “ineligible”, this means that her claim was unsuccessful. The Tshiamiso Trust says that a claim is unsuccessful if it does not meet the criteria (the requirements) that are set out in the Trust Deed. It says that the reasons for this can be viewed on the link that she would have received by SMS.

Tshiamiso also says that someone whose claim was unsuccessful can ask for the results to be reviewed by the Trust. This request must be logged within 120 days after the claimant has received the notice that the claim was unsuccessful. 

These are the steps the Trust gives:   

Step 1: Logging a dispute

A claimant can log a request for a review of the outcome of a claim (referred to as the determination) through the following channels:

• The Call Centre:

  •  Inside South Africa: 080 1000 240

  • Outside South Africa: 00 27 10 500 6186

• Any Lodgement Office

• Email: disputes@tshiamisotrust.com

Step 2: Assessing the Dispute

The Trust will assess the request for review and assign it to either:

• The Medical Reviewing Authority (applies to disputes that relate to medical findings)
  or;

• The Certification Reviewing Authority (applies to disputes not related to medical findings, including benefit amounts, notices of ineligibility and service records).

The Trust will contact the claimant if more information is needed.

Step 3: Reviewing the Dispute

The applicable Reviewing Authority will review the claim as per the logged dispute and make a finding.

The Reviewing Authority is made up of independent experts who were not involved in determining the original claim outcome.

The Trust says that if the claim does not meet the requirements of the Trust Deed, it will remain ineligible – unsuccessful.

Step 4: Communicating the outcome

Once the review is complete, the claimant will receive an SMS, notifying them of the outcome. The SMS will have a link to a notice, which can be viewed on their phone or printed at any TEBA office.

The outcomes of a review can be that:

• The original determination is confirmed and upheld

• The original determination is changed in full or in part, and the claim will continue from the point at which the original determination was made, with the substituted finding.

Tshaimiso says that the decision of the Reviewing Authority is final and the dispute cannot be taken any further.

As you and your mother have already spent some three years trying to claim, it would probably be worth lodging a request for a review of the Tshiamiso decision.

Wishing you the best,
Athalie