Compensatory relief for work-related Asthma
Overview:
The Minister of Employment and Labour formally signed and enacted two key regulations to the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Disease Act 130 of 1993 (COIDA) for the Compensation Fund on 7 June 2024, with the objective of safeguarding workers who suffer from respiratory illnesses. The Regulations on Irritant-Induced Asthma and the Regulations on Work-Aggravated Asthma indicate significant progress towards ensuring that workers who develop Asthma because of their working environment are afforded proper support and can apply for compensation from the Compensation Fund.
Irritant-induced Asthma is defined in the regulation to mean a “disease characterised by variable airflow limitation and/or bronchial hyper responsiveness due to causes and conditions attributable to a particular environment”. According to this concept, workers who already experience Asthmatic symptoms may be more sensitive to certain aspects of their workplace. Interestingly, the regulation specifies that it addresses Asthma that is not immune-related, namely irritant-induced Asthma, which arises from a single severe encounter or repeated exposures to recognised irritant(s) in a person who was previously healthy. The procedure for irritant-induced Asthma is found in section 65 of COIDA.
On the other hand, the work-aggravated Asthma is defined to mean “a sub-set of work-related Asthma in patients with pre-existing or concurrent Asthma that is worsened, but not caused by work”. This regulation permits a worker to claim compensation from the Compensation Fund even if they were employed with Asthma and it was only exacerbated by their workplace environment.
Both regulations provide that a qualified medical professional must diagnose workers with irritant-induced Asthma and work-aggravated Asthma subject to the requirements provided for in the regulations. They only differ in terms of compensation benefits. Insofar as death benefits are concerned, these regulations allow reasonable burial benefits subject to burial expenses policy of the Compensation Fund. Moreover, where applicable the widow’s and dependent’s pension shall be payable.
In addition to the benefits that have already been covered, these regulations give medical assistance to pay the costs of treatment for the sickness, contingent on the unique circumstances of each worker as considered and provided for in the regulations.
