South African labour movement the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has expressed its dismay at the statement by Reserve Bank governor yesterday that the strong rand is beneficial for South Africa and that the trade sector is thriving.

In a statement released by Cosatu earlier today, acting spokesperson Patrick Craven said that the effects of the overvalued rand on the economy have not been beneficial but catastrophic and reiterated the union’s call for a cut in interest rates.

“The facts demonstrate otherwise and so does the experiences of workers and poor communities. For the vast majority of South Africans, workers in particular, the overvalued rand has been not just painful, as the governor concedes, but catastrophic, with thousands of jobs lost and families thrown into poverty,” Craven said.

“That is the result of what the governor described as “forced productivity improvements and increased competition” caused by the strong rand, which he believes has boosted the economy, but in reality has devastated it.”

It was hoped in various quarters, that the South African government would intervene to stop the rand’s escalation and thus throw a lifeline to the flailing export and mining sectors.

Cosatu said they would be happy to provide Mboweni with a tour of the clothing industry in Cape Town and the mines of Gauteng and the Free State for him to see first hand what effects the strong rand is having on these sectors.

“Perhaps some contact with the real economy would help remind him of the realities of our country: that the biggest threats to prosperity and growth for all of us remain massive unemployment, poverty and inequality. Running down the economy and employment for the sake of recording low inflation is not an acceptable solution for workers, the poor, or indeed any truly patriotic South African,” Craven said.

The union said that it will be taking over the section 77 notice submitted by the National Union of Mineworkers and uniting the trade union movement behind its demand for measures to counter the “harmful” effects of the strong rand.

“We are calling on Nedlac to convene an early meeting to discuss this notice and will definitely take the issue to the streets to protest,” Craven concluded.