A former employee of Gold Fields Ltd., South Africa’s second largest gold producer, filed a lawsuit in a US court claiming the company enslaved black workers and exposed them to dangerous mine conditions and toxic substances.
The suit, filed late on Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court, seeks $7,4-billion in damages and a court-imposed trust on Gold Fields’ assets, including any profits the company derives from selling its stock on the New York Stock Exchange.
Gold Fields representative Cheryl Martin said she hadn’t seen the suit yet and couldn’t immediately comment. The company plans to make a statement about the legal action when it releases its third-quarter results on Thursday, she said.
The suit was filed under a federal statute known as the Alien Tort Claims Act. The plaintiff claims to be able to file in New York state court because Gold Fields does business in New York.
Plaintiff Zalumzi Mtwesi, of Mount Ayliff, South Africa, claims he and others were removed from their homes and forced to work in unsafe mines where conditions were ”inhumane and substandard.”
Mtwesi says he was forced to work excessive hours without breaks and drink contaminated water, with torture the result if he complained.
The suit does not specify the time period of the alleged abuses.
Edward Fagan, the plaintiff’s attorney, said he expects the class to include at least 20 000 former and present Gold Fields workers.
Fagan has previously been involved in efforts to secure compensation from Swiss banks for Holocaust victims and slave reparations from US corporations. – Sapa-AP