Pretoria - The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and Cosatu will for the first time jointly hold a nationwide protest when they rally against the rising fuel and food prices tomorrow.
The two trade union federations have urged workers to join their national shutdown to convince the government to assist workers to deal with rising prices, including creating jobs for the unemployed youth.
Yesterday, Saftu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said their protest action was endorsed by more than 200 working-class formations and pro-worker NGOs and social movements, unanimously and enthusiastically.
He said countless left-leaning political parties also endorsed the call for a national shutdown, including the EFF, PAC of Azania, Azapo, the Workers and Socialist Party and others.
“The decision to hold a general strike/stayaway/national shutdown comes as a result of the worsening socio-economic conditions for the working class and marginalised poor communities. The cost of living is rising. Corruption and the neo-liberal policies of the ANC have compromised the provision of public services. Unemployment has soared …
“And the government is accelerating the offensive on public corporations in the form of commercialisation, outsourcing and privatisation,” Vavi said.
He said electricity tariffs had increased by a combined 507% between 2007 and 2022, and the high electricity tariffs over the period had been driven up by the government’s bid to offer conducive conditions for profitability, and attract private investment in electricity generation as envisioned in their White Paper on Energy in 1998.
“These astronomical increases in electricity tariffs have caused strife across all municipalities, for example causing the people of Tembisa to go on strike late last month, as the National Treasury imposed a new, more neo-liberal electricity pricing scheme.
“In Msunduzi Municipality, it costs R787.50 per month for a household to consume 350kWh of electricity.
“In Ekurhuleni Metro, where 1kW per hour of electricity costs R2.95 per kWh, consuming 350kWh of electricity costs R1 032 per month. Electricity disconnections under Eskom’s 2020 policy of ‘load reduction’ target communities with large low-income populations for collective punishment, in a policy known by communities as ‘energy racism’,” Vavi said.
He said petrol prices have now reached unprecedented levels with a litre of 93 unleaded petrol costing R26.31 in July, and marginally reduced to R24.99 cents.
“This represents a 66% increase since March, 2020. Petrol price increases have consequently caused commuter transport costs to increase by an average of 26.3% since December, 2019.”
Vavi said the National Household Travel Survey reported that the total monthly cost of taxis as a mode of transport to work increased by R168 – from R468 in 2013 to R636 in 2020. For buses, the transport increased by R158. He said because this was the average, prices were even higher in some areas, and moderate in others.
“The National Taxi Alliance said the prices of its transport would increase by 20 to 35%. In an article, a commuter reports that a taxi between Greenville and Johannesburg has increased from R18 to R25. Some long-distance taxi associations have increased their prices by R20 and others by R50.
“Today, 80% of workers use taxis to and from work, given that the ANC government’s corrupt management of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa and Metrorail services – and failure to provide security across the tracks – have collapsed much of the once-inexpensive commuter rail system. Yet the taxi industry, unlike buses and the elite Gautrain, are not receiving a subsidy from the government.
“This has to change, for the sake of poor and working-class people who depend on minibus taxis, and because subsiding this form of transport could offset the petrol price increases,” Vavi said.
In the Limpopo march, participants are to assemble at SABC Park in Polokwane at 8am and march to the Office of the Premier at 10am.
The Mpumalanga march will start at Broadway in eMalahleni from 9am and proceed to Eskom Park at 10am.
The Gauteng march is taking place in Pretoria, with the assembly point at Burgers Park at 6am and destination the Union Buildings.
In the Free State, the march is in Bloemfontein. Participants will assemble from 7am at Batho Location Hall in Mangaung and march to the OR Tambo Building at 10am.
Eastern Cape marchers are assembling from 8am at the Fort Hare Grounds proceeding to the Bisho Legislature at 10am. In the Western Cape, the march is in Cape Town from Keizersgracht from 10am.
In KwaZulu-Natal, workers will observe the national shutdown.
Pretoria News