The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) will embark on a national strike on Wednesday 24 August 2022. The unions explain that rising cost of food, fuel and increased occurrences of loadshedding is the reason for their strike.
In December 2021, the price of petrol in South Africa breached the R20 per litre barrier for the first time in history. However, several factors saw the price of petrol grow to R26,74c per litre in July 2022. The price of electricity also increased in April when state power utility Eskom announced an increase of 9.61% on tariffs for non-municipal customers.
Both fuel and electricity are important input costs for many businesses and these increases in the price of fuel and electricity have resulted in cost increases of food, transport and other essential goods and services.
Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla says they are calling on all South Africans to join the union when they take to the streets on 24 August 2022.
Pamla says all of the issues the union will be protesting are not new and they have raised concerns with the government. They explained that research took place four years ago around a possible fuel price cap which the department has not yet shared their findings with the union.
Pamla adds that unions have solutions which will improve the lives of South Africans and have the support of stakeholders. However, challenges arise as these solutions are not being implemented by the government.
Cosatu is an alliance partner of the governing African National Congress (ANC). Pamla says while they will do everything they can to support the ANC, they also have the responsibility to hold the ruling party to account.
We are starting to see this frustration in our communities high unemployment and escalating poverty that people are starting to fight amongst themselves instead of focusing their energies on the culprits and policy makers
They add that the strike will also serve as a reminder that the current issues they face are not due to foreign nationals but rather individuals who dictate policies in the country.
