Discussions about university fee increases should be suspended until the presidential commission of inquiry into higher education tables its final report late next year, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Thursday.

It further supported students’ arguments that white monopoly capital should pay for vulnerable students, general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali told reporters.

He was briefing media on Cosatu’s central executive committee meeting, which ended on Wednesday.

Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said at the beginning of August that he would make an announcement on fee increases for next year before the end of the month.

President Jacob Zuma established the commission in January to look into the feasibility of free tertiary education in South Africa. The deadline to complete its work was June 2017. It began public hearings earlier this month.

Student leaders were planning to hold talks and mass meetings on Monday to decide on their next move. They had threatened to shut down universities should there be a fee increase.

The South African Union of Students said it had lost patience with the government and would accept nothing but a 0% fee increase at all universities in 2017.