South Africa: SA Largely Ignores Union Calls for Mass Stayaway - But Concerns 'Fair and Factual', Admits Government

Masibonge Makhanya is a community health worker from KwaMbungulu in KwaZulu-Natal. He says he works in a rural community and earns a low salary though his contract is renewed yearly. He wants a housing allowance and medical aid.
analysis

Calls by South Africa's two largest trade union federations for workers to shut down the economy on Wednesday seemed to go largely unheeded. Marches in major cities to protest against the cost of living crisis drew a maximum of a few thousand participants in each. While accepting that the unions' concerns are 'fair and factual', presidency representative Mondli Gungubele suggested that there was little that government could do.

On a day when unions called for a mass stayaway from work to protest against the cost of living crisis, new figures from Stats SA revealed that consumer inflation has hit its highest point since 2009.

The major contributors: the spike in the cost of food, electricity and fuel.

Wednesday's announcement in this regard was not news to the protesters who took to South Africa's streets to demand government intervention in the growing unaffordability of basic goods and services. Daily Maverick spoke to frustrated strikers throughout the day who said they were under severe financial pressure and were struggling to afford transportation costs, food and electricity.

Few South Africans will have been unscathed by the present crisis. But even after taking up this vital and popular cause, union federations Cosatu and Saftu...

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