The Congress of South African Trade Unions welcomes Minister of Social Development

BY Mishkah Anthony
29 August 2008

The Congress of South African Trade Unions welcomes Minister of Social Development, Dr. Zola Skweyiya’s, announcement on new regulations for social grant, which will allow over a million more people to be in a position to apply for a grant.

The union has been calling for increases in social grants to help the poorest South Africans for the cut in their real standard of living as a result of the major increases in the prices of food, fuel, paraffin and other goods.

COSATU spokesperson Patrick Craven says, “It is therefore encouraged that the Minister agrees with us that the cost of living has increased as a result of high food and petrol prices and that the lack of adjustment of the means test to make it in line with inflation had diminished the value of the grants more especially in purchasing the basket of goods and services that is mostly consumed by the poor’’.

COSATU agrees with the Minister that the measures are part of government’s war on poverty campaign and COSATU agrees with him that “This is indeed a step in the right direction especially in these hard times.”

The federation will however continue to campaign for other measures to protect the poor from rising prices, including a war on price-fixing and more goods to be zero-rated for VAT.