By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Photo Credit: Thulani Mbele.
Labour federation will hold a national strike on 24 August against the rising cost of living, fuel costs, and load shedding, adding to labour formations planning demonstrations on that day.
The planned work stoppage will also represent “a response by the workers to the ongoing class warfare directed at them by both public and private sector employers,” the Congress of South African Trade Unions said in an emailed statement on Monday.
Further details about the strike will be announced on 18 August, it said.
In July, South Africa delivered its biggest increase in borrowing costs in almost two decades and signaled a faster pace of hikes through next year.
The monetary policy committee raised the repurchase interest rate to 5.5% from 4.75% – it’s the biggest hike since September 2002.
The central bank’s preemptive hiking cycle started in November and Thursday’s move helps to narrow the spread between inflation and the benchmark rate, potentially burnishing the appeal of local assets to offshore investors and supporting a currency that’s weakened by more than 6% against the dollar this year.
The higher cost of money adds to the burden of households facing a cost-of-living crisis spurred by rising food and fuel costs, and threatens to weigh on household consumption that accounts for about two-thirds of gross domestic product.
While the move to lift borrowing costs is painful for now, it’s “a sign of a central bank acting credibly to return the inflation rate to their target in order to mitigate the pain of higher inflation down the line,” said Angelika Goliger, chief economist at EY Africa.
In October last year, Cosatu held a national strike over similar concerns, but the protest had little discernible impact. The federation also held a march in Cape Town protesting public transport costs earlier this month.