Johannesburg - The pending fuel hike, which kicks in at midnight on Tuesday, will hit workers hard during already tough times.
This is according to union UASA, which notes workers already face a looming economic recession, 15 000 job losses and a lack of leadership due to political uncertainty.
From Wednesday, motorists will pay an additional 11 cents for a litre of 93 octane unleaded petrol and 8 cents for 95 octane unleaded petrol.
This will raise the cost of a litre of 93 octane petrol from R12.96 to R13.07 for inland motorists, while a litre of 95 octane unleaded petrol will go up from R13.26 to R13.34.
These price hikes follow the increase of 52 cent per litre in June, a 12 cents increase in May, and an 88 cents increase in April. The price of diesel will go up by 42 cents while the wholesale price for illuminating paraffin will rise by 43 cents.
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“As usual workers will get a double whammy since their transport costs to get to their places of work will be more while they will eventually have to fork out more for consumer goods.
“Workers had to tighten their belts so much up to now so it is doubtful if they will be able to endure much more,” the union says in a statement released Tuesday.
On Sunday, the department of energy explained the main reasons for the fuel price adjustments were the strengthening of the rand against the dollar during the period under review, which cushioned the fuel prices by more than 17c a litre, a slight increase on average in the prices of petroleum products in the international markets and an increase in the prices of crude oil, on average, mainly due to supply disruptions in Canada, Venezuela, Libya, Nigeria and Iraq.
The department urged motorists and others to “use these petroleum products effectively during these tough economic times”.
UASA is one of several unions affiliated to the Federation of Trade Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) which represents approximately 500 000 members at the macro level. It represents close to 73 000 working South Africans across the spectrum of job categories.
IOL