Just News |
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) says it is appalled by the South African Reserve Bank’s callous decision to further impoverish workers with yet another repo rate hike. COSATU reiterated that a cursor reading of the National Credit Regulator’s reports attests to the fact that workers are drowning in debt.
COSATU National Spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said this will make it even harder for workers to continue to pay their loans and put them at risk of losing their homes, cars, and other possessions that they were earned over many years.
“Workers, consumers, SMMEs and the economy are still struggling to recover from Covid-19, a deep economic recession, a 43% unemployment rate, and a cumulative 250 basis points hike in the repo rate since 2021”.
Pamla further said workers cannot afford to continue to indulge the SARB’s fetish with ghastly repo rate hikes month after month. The government needs to address those issues within its ambit to fix this crisis and alleviate the pressure on workers and the economy.
“If we are to reduce inflation and prevent it from further depleting workers’ meagre wages, then government needs to address the fundamental crises fuelling it and crippling the economy”.
