This provides the statutory incentive for the establishment of comprehensive, coherent services in the mining sector. Problems include the scarcity of trained practitioners, a relatively small budget for standard setting and enforcement, and declining profitability of mines. The specialised support and referral services of the NCOH were remodelled in 1996 to extend national capacity for the occupational health system as a whole. Extending benefit examinations for mineworkers These medical examinations, conducted at state expense in terms of the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act, are to identify current and former mineworkers with occupational disease. Table 1 shows the large number of workers employed in RSA mines.
Survivors are eligible for benefit examinations twice yearly.
It is not surprising that the Leon Commission and the Committee of Inquiry into a National Health and Safety Council included comprehensive recommendations on this issue. Consequently, the health and safety inspectorates have not developed strategies consistent with national policy. A potential conflict of interest may arise when the same government department is responsible for both maximising production and ensuring that effective health and safety measures are developed and implemented. The Department of Minerals and Energy is in this position. Its participation in the formulation and implementation of national policies and strategies is, therefore, desirable.