13:30 - 16:00, International Conference Hall
Plenary Session 5
Compensation for Damages due to Asbestos
Chairs: Akira Morita and Satomi_Usijima
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Linda Waldman
Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK
ABSTRACT
This workshop presentation examines how people in Griquatown, South Africa have received and interpreted asbestos compensation over the past 30 years. Many of the residents of this town worked on Cape plc asbestos mines in the Northern Cape and are thus inflicted with various asbestos-related diseases. Those people who worked on the mines have been able to claim compensation from the Medical Bureau of Occupational Disease within South Africa and, more recently, as claimants in the international class action against Cape plc. Those people who experienced only environmental exposure, but who still suffer from asbestos-related diseases have fewer options for compensation and have to rely on state pensions which are difficult to secure. This presentation examines how these various payments for asbestos related diseases are conceptualised by residents of Griquatown. It focuses on cultural interpretations of asbestos related diseases, exploring the impact of this disease through notions of family and belonging, and examines the socio-economic context into which these compensatory payments are made.