|
Cape Town: Thousands of unionised South African workers downed tools yesterday to protest against a sharp jump in food and fuel prices, shutting down businesses and rattling jittery investors.
The walkout in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, home to two of the nation's largest cities, was part of a drive by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and its allies to pressure the government to tilt policy to the left in Africa's biggest economy.
Cosatu is aiming for a national strike on August 6.
"I don't even have money to buy bread. I don't have food in the house," said Mabel Adams, a factory worker who joined 2,000 protesters in a march on the parliament buildings in Cape Town.
The impact of the mass action was greatest in Durban, where the transport system ground to a halt and many businesses closed their doors as 3,000 protesters, including labour and communist leaders, marched through the city centre.
But major installations appeared unscathed by the walkout.
Durban's Sapref oil refinery and the nearby Richards Bay Coal Terminal, the artery for South Africa's coal exports, were operating normally, officials said. There were no reports of disruptions at gold, platinum, coal and diamond mines.
There is rising political tension in South Africa and fear of an economic downturn. Growth has averaged about 5 per cent in recent years but dropped sharply in the first quarter of 2008.
Business leaders and foreign investors worry that labour unrest could combine with an electricity crisis and soaring world oil prices to produce a toxic cocktail for South Africa, which is a net importer of energy.
"The proposed rolling mass action will affect productivity and drive prices higher. We are looking at millions of rands, if not billions, in lost productivity," said Neren Rau, chief executive of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
|
