MANYANE MANYANE
The General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (Giwusa) has raised concerns over the findings of the latest Household Affordability Index report, which reveals that the average South African worker spends over 57% of their monthly earnings on transport and electricity.
The union said these shocking statistics highlighted the stubborn persistence of the unbearable cost of living crisis facing its members and the broader working-class community.
“The fact that this crisis has deepened since the so-called 'New Dawn' around President Cyil Ramaphosa and continues unabated during GNU (Government of National Unity) is a damning indictment of the current President and his administration. It graphically reveals the bankruptcy of the neoliberal policies he has doubled down on.”
“Not only are the plans in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) doomed to fail to curtail the cost-of-living crisis, but his sweeping privatisation of the remaining public services is bound to exacerbate it,” said the union.
The report shows that the average cost of a basic nutritional food basket for a family of four people is R3,830,05 for January 2025.
Electricity and transport take up to 57.7% of a worker’s wage (R2,802,97/R4,854,08). The report stated that after securing transport and electricity workers are left with R2,051,11 for food and other necessities.
The index is compiled monthly by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group (PMBEJD).
“The National Minimum Wage (NWM) is a poverty wage - it hurts workers, it reduces productivity in the workplace, and slows down economic growth. The maximum wage of R4,854,08 in January 2025 when disbursed in a family of four persons is R1,213,52. This is below the upper-bound poverty line of R1,634 per capita per month. Set at such a low level, the NMW works to institutionalise the low-baseline wage regime and lock millions of workers into poverty.
“Small annual increments off such a low wage base, and which do not reflect inflation levels as experienced by workers, nor the actual cost of worker expenses (including not projecting inflation forward for workers in the entire 2024/25 term), means that workers on the NMW are getting poorer and poorer each year.”
Giwusa’s president Mametlwe Sebei said the report is a stark reminder of the struggles faced by working-class South Africans.
“We demand that the government take immediate action to address the cost-of-living crisis and ensure that workers can afford a decent standard of living.
“This entails ending the tyranny of neoliberal policies and austerity including inflation targeting policies of SA Reserve Bank (SARB). The SARB monetary policies, which operationalise the neoliberal programme of Government, have impoverished working-class people, stripped them of their meagre assets – houses, vehicles, and other asset repossessions, and facilitated the massive transfer of their wealth to banks and a tiny elite of society – the top 1% of earners who own 95% of corporate shares and bonds,” said Sebei.
Sebei said the fact workers are forced to allocate such a large portion of their income towards transport and electricity while compromising on food and other essential expenses, is unacceptable.
He said this situation is a direct result of the government's failure to address the escalating cost-of-living crisis, particularly with regard to electricity, transport, and food prices.