Cape Town - The working class have had to make drastic lifestyle changes to keep abreast with a cost of living crisis, described in expert opinion as a “global phenomenon”.
Citizens have been feeling the pinch with rising costs of groceries, fuel and transport, with some having to spend more than half of their salaries on transport to get to work.
Call centre employee Lynton Smith, said his salary only barely covered his monthly expenditure.
“It’s becoming really tough to see through the month even though you try to budget.
“Everything has just become too expensive and even if you try to cut down on the niceties you used to be able to enjoy, it still hardly helps in keeping head above water because everything is expensive.
“I can’t think of giving up my job because I have debt that must be paid, a family to take care of but it seems that is all your money goes toward – the very basic costs are covered with a meagre salary that just doesn’t match what it costs to live in this country nowadays.
“Costs are spiralling and we are struggling yet we are the working class bringing big bucks to the coffers of those who stay rich,” said Smith.
National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) spokesperson, Phakamile Majola, said a short-term solution would be to increase the current minimum wage to a living wage so citizens can recover from financial and employment challenges.
“A living wage should be defined according to your expenses.
“A living wage is based on your monthly expenses.
“We should also have subsidies such as transportation subsidies so that workers are not using up more than 50% of their salaries just to get to work.
“And that means that public transportation in this country must be highly subsidised so that ordinary workers and their families are not spending three quarters of their salaries just on transportation to get to places of employment.
“An ideological long-term reform, if you really want to radically change the lives of the working class of South Africa, then you must nationalise the minerals and mines.
“That mineral wealth can pay for free quality education and free quality healthcare ...Right now the economy is geared towards benefiting only the 1% who get richer and richer while every body else gets poorer,” said Majola.
She said the union had always fought for above inflation wage increases for the working class and the union has “rejected the narrative” that workers must earn salaries in line with inflation or below inflation.
Expert economist, Matthew Ocran, said the current cost of living crisis was a global phenomenon.
“Anyone who follows international news would have noticed the agitations and social unrest, even in the rich countries of the Global North.
“These concerns are a result of the fast pace at which prices of goods and services are rising. Most households can’t keep up.
“Wages and salaries are not rising fast enough to match the cost of living. The price of petrol, basic goods and services are increasing at such an alarming rate that it is making many workers poorer. Unfortunately, the rate of inflation doesn’t seem to have peaked yet.
“The situation in South Africa is dire …The Ukraine-Russia war has made a bad situation worse. The deteriorating electricity supply situation is pushing the country towards a precipice. Businesses, especially small businesses are badly affected …If workers leave their jobs and therefore lose their labour income, they will end up with a greater shortfall between their income and expenditure. It is better to hang in there and hope for a better day,” said Ocran.
Cape Times