The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes the drop in the inflation rate to 2.8% from 3.8% in September. This is the lowest the inflation rate has been since June 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when it was 2.2%.  The continuous drop in inflation is a welcome relief to millions of workers who have been battered by the rising costs of living.

COSATU expects nothing less than a significant cut in the repo rate when the South African Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday, given that inflation has been within the Reserve Bank’s target of 3% to 6% since June 2023, and is now well below the target range. We therefore expect a cut much more ambitions than 25 basis points, especially given the need for monetary policy to stimulate employment.

Workers and their families have been pummelled by devastating interest rates since the Reserve Bank started hiking rates. This exacerbated our already high levels of over-indebtedness, leading them to sacrifice on essentials such as healthy food, consequently their health is compromised. A drop in interest rates would ease the pain for millions of workers who have been struggling to make ends meet.

The Federation also calls on government to revive the economy by providing extra support to Eskom, Transnet and Metro Rail as these entities are crucial for the optimal functioning of the economy, and in particular to end Eskom’s dependency on unaffordable double-digit tariff hikes.

Government also needs to accelerate the review of the fuel price regime, reduce related taxes and zero rate key food items to provide relief to consumers, commuters and the economy.

Issued by COSATU

Zanele Sabela(COSATU National Spokesperson)

Mobile: 079 287 5788 / 077 600 6639

Email: zaneles@cosatu.org.za