Durban - Cosatu has called on the country’s citizens to be more sympathetic towards people currently battling to make ends meet, by sharing meals with them this festive season.
Delivering its festive season message, the trade union federation said it was concerned that levels of unemployment remained high, resulting in an increase in poverty.
“With over 16 million South Africans struggling to have three meals a day, and inflation ravaging households, we urge everyone to show Ubuntu by sharing with those at the bottom end of the economic pyramid,” said Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla.
The labour federation also wished its members and the country’s citizens an enjoyable holiday period and a well-earned break.
With the ANC elective conference just concluded, and 2023 just days away, Cosatu made it clear that it expected better from the ruling party’s newly elected leadership, especially in government.
“We expect the newly elected ANC leadership to ensure that its government delivers a people-centred budget. The budget should be progressive and should be judged by the extent to which it moves the tax burden away from the poor to the rich,” Pamla said.
He stressed that the 2023/24 budget should provide a road map to enhance the Social Relief of Distress Grant and lay the foundation for the introduction of a Basic Income Grant.
“It is equally important for the Presidential Employment Stimulus to be significantly upscaled from the current half a million participants to at least 1 million by February 2023 and 2 million by October 2023,” the Cosatu spokesperson said.
The labour federation expressed concern that big businesses were taking their profits away from the country and investing them in tax havens, saying the government should work at ensuring that these profits get invested locally so that they can lead to more jobs.