The Reserve Bank’s decision to push up the interest rate will only make a bad economic situation worse for South Africans.

Labour federation, Cosatu says it’s clear that the central bank is indifferent to the plight of workers who are buckling under the pressure of high indebtedness as high-interest rates raises the cost of living for everyone who is repaying a loan.

It has slammed government for outsourcing the management of the economy to the SARB. Cosatu has called for Treasury to take full responsibility for the economic crisis and take drastic steps to provide the necessary relief.

Over the past 18 months the repo rate has increased by a cumulative 475 basis points. A situation unions have said suffocates the economy considering that about 60% of the country’s GDP comes from consumer spending.