The fuel price increase that comes into effect at midnight today may not be the steepest we have seen over the past year, but these small amounts still have a cumulative effect on the pockets of cash-strapped workers.
 
In October last year, when fuel prices were at an all-time high, Energy Minister Jeff Radebe said government was looking at the possibility of a price cap on fuel, and that this research would be concluded in January 2019. As yet, there has been no word on the results that might be forthcoming from such research.
 
As a union representing workers, we can only hope that Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will announce some form of relief regarding fuel prices in his Budget speech on 20 February. It is not the fuel price alone that makes life difficult for hard-working South Africans, but also the resulting ripple effect on the prices of products that need to be transported to the consumer.

Issued by UASA