A debate around the compulsory HIV testing of miners is set to shake up the mining industry in the coming months. Concerns are that miners whose HIV status is known could be the target of discrimination.
The need for a policy around the compulsory HIV testing of mine workers arose from a case that has been postponed in the Pretoria High Court.
Central to the case is a decision by the chief inspector of mines and the Ministry of Minerals and Energy about the classification of the death of Jose Mulungu Cossa, a miner who worked for the Rustenburg Platinum Mine.
Cossa died in hospital in October 2000, about a month after sustaining knee injuries in an accident in the mine’s Turffontein shaft.
The chief inspector ruled that Cossa’s death was a fatality arising from his injuries in the mineshaft and did not result from his HIV-positive status.
Health-e news service reported that the mining company challenged the ruling, which imposed a R60 000 levy, paid over three years, on the mining company.
The case was postponed until next January after the parties decided to attempt to develop a policy that would assist in situations where mine workers infected with the HI virus meet with accidents and subsequently die in the process of exercising their duty.
“We believe that companies have to be given permission to know the status of their various employees when they appoint them,” said Mike Mtakati, spokesperson for Anglo-Platinum.
He said compulsory testing would benefit the employees because they can be placed in less hazardous jobs.
“We could, through the various interventions, prolong their lives. We don’t have to shy away from the workers who are infected with this disease, but we have a responsibility as a company to help prolong their lives. But we can only do that when, and if, we know their status with regard to HIV/Aids,” he said.
But compulsory testing creates a problem if it is forced on miners, said Senzeni Zokwana, president of the National Union of Mineworkers. “Testing is good, but we will not support a situation where testing is done against the will of our members.”
Zokwana said that if the mining companies implemented compulsory testing, those who are HIV-positive would be the first considered for retrenchments.
“The issue of placement is not a new one … The problem is the mining companies may find that up to 40% of their workforces are HIV-positive; then who will go underground?”
A mining-industry committee will debate whether the death of HIV-positive miners should be included in mines’ statistics.
These statistics are used to determine a mine’s safety risk, which in turn results in a specially calculated levy being imposed on the mine. Mining companies stand to benefit from HIV-positive miners being excluded from the statistics, as the greater the risk, the higher the levy imposed on them.
Mtakati is adamant that the issue of Cossa and the court ruling has nothing to do with the monetary factor. “It’s got absolutely nothing to do with the issue of the levy, but has everything to do with a principle.”
Khopotso Bodibe is a reporter for Health-e news service