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The Congress of South African Trade Unions has noted with anger that South Africa is now officially the world's most unequal nation. We have overtaken Brazil as the country with the widest gap between rich and poor.

It was reported to Parliament by Haroon Bhorat, University of Cape Town economics professor, that South Africa is now "the most unequal society in the world", with a significant increase in income inequality.

The Gini coefficient index measures the level of income inequality. A value of one indicates complete inequality while a value of zero reflects complete equality. In South Africa it stands at 0.679, up from 0.66 in 2007, although down from a high of 0.685 in 2006.

Generally any Gini coefficient above 0.5 is regarded as high. The figures for other countries with high levels of inequality are Brazil, at 0.57, Bolivia at 0.601 and Botswana at 0.605. But South Africa is the worst of them all.

Brazil is said to have improved its position because of a programme of "upliftment grants to educate children, which are only given on condition that a child is sent to school and attends regularly.

It is also due, according to Alan Hirsch, deputy director-general in the Presidency, to Brazil having "more successful industrial policies" than South Africa, with "a greater variety of industrial development programmes and small business support programmes".

South Africa on the other hand is suffering from the failure of the neoliberal economic policies of the 1996 class project which relied far too much on market forces to deliver growth. They not only failed to achieve similar successes to Brazil's but widened the wealth gap even further.

These figures totally vindicate COSATU's insistence that South Africa needs a fundamental transformation in the way that wealth is distributed. While the monthly incomes of South Africa's poorest 10% rose by 33.3% from R783 in 1993 to R1,041 in 2008, the richest 10% got richer by nearly 38% over the same period.

What's more there remains a stark racial element to the inequality. While black South Africans' salaries increased by 38% between 1995 and 2008, the incomes of white South Africans rose by 83.5%! This reflects the findings of the 2008-2009 Employment Equity Report which indicated that the majority of black workers still occupy unskilled and low-paying jobs, whilst the top-paying positions are still the preserve of the white minority.

Jacko Maree, head of Standard Bank took home R14.1 million in 2008. Former SAA CEO Khaya Ngqula was paid a total of R13,651 in the past financial year. Yet more than 20 million South Africans live in poverty.

COSATU will be even more determined to fight for above-inflation pay increases for the lowest paid workers. Wage increases which are on or below the level of inflation merely perpetuate or increase the present levels of inequality. We shall continue to campaign for a Basic Income Grant to help poorest of the poor, like the unemployed who fall between the cracks of the present grant provision and have no income at all at present.

The federation will be fighting even more vigorously against the grotesque level of salaries, bonuses and perks in the business world.
This report also vindicates the ANC government's developments economic policies set out in the election manifesto, in particular in the five priority areas:
§ The creation of decent work and sustainable livelihoods

§ The further improvement of educational infrastructure services

§ The further improvement of health services

§ Rural development, food security and land reform

§ The fight against crime and corruption

COSATU will continue to give all possible assistance to the government as it strives to implement these programmes and improve the lives of the people. We shall be even more adamant that the culture of crass materialism must be banished, especially in the public service, and not rest until we have drastically reduced the present world-record levels of inequality.