i) As reported previously, the calls for a national minimum wage continue to gain momentum and support, particularly in a local government election year, where a topic such as this appeals to the majority of voters. This month, business, labour and government representatives have reportedly been engaged in frantic negotiations to agree on a national minimum wage, but no legislative changes have been formulated yet.
ii) In the mining industry, a settlement was reached in some long-standing litigation between roughly 4400 claimant ex-mine workers and two large mining houses, AngloGold Ashanti and Anglo American. The claims regarding dust-related lung diseases, silicosis and silico-tuberculosis, which these workers claimed were contracted from working in unsafe conditions in the mines. The settlement, which included no admission of liability on the part of the mining companies, amounted to an estimated ZAR500 million (approximately €30 million) in total. Other class action litigation is still pending relating to silicosis claims in the mining industry.