Labour federation Cosatu has criticised National Treasury and the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources for failing to provide some cushioning to commuters amid the more than R3 price hike in fuel. It says that it’s a tragedy that they have failed to act now. Cosatu has advised that the Second Special Appropriation Bill before Parliament, which provides R10 billion to the Central Energy Fund’s Equalisation Fund, be used to provide badly needed relief to the working class and the economy.
It argues that this would ease the cost-of-living pressures facing workers, lower inflation and thus prevent yet another potentially devastating repo rate hike in November.
“This is yet another blow that the working class and the economy simply cannot afford. Petrol and diesel prices have skyrocketed by more than 25% and 50 % over the past few months due to the ill-considered and illegal war in the Persian Gulf. This is not just a fuel price issue, it is a cost of living crisis,”
Parks added that workers spend up to 30 % of their wages on transport. Come the 07th October 2026, motorists will be paying just over R30 for a litre of petrol while diesel will climb between R2.85 and R3.25 per litre.
The Single Maximum National Retail Price (SMNRP) for illuminating paraffin will increase by R4.77 per litre. The price of LPG will rise by 42 cents per kilogram nationally, while consumers in the Western Cape will pay 48 cents per kilogram. “This fuel increase wipes out wage increases, pushes taxi and bus fare prices up and threatens to make food even more expensive for working class families.”
