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May 24 2012 17:31
The Reserve Bank will maintain current interest rates, and a considerable reduction in the local petrol price is anticipated, says governor Gill Marcus.
May 24 2012 15:29
The Reserve Bank will maintain current interest rates, says governor Gill Marcus.
May 24 2012 12:00
Britain fell deeper into recession than initially thought in the first quarter of 2012, upping chances that the central bank could inject more stimulus into the economy.
Cape Town - Cosatu said workers should not back down from their demands for a double-digit wage increase.
The trade federation also urged unions to ensure that workers do not bear the brunt of the recession.
"These calls (to tone down wage demands) are misdirected," general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi told a congress of the National Union of Mineworkers (Num) on Thursday. "Rather direct these calls to the fat cats living beyond the means of our economy."
Vavi recognised that the country's economy was "in crisis", but said workers could not bear the load of a situation that was not of their making.
He said the corporate sector should "urgently and seriously" review perks and salaries paid to senior management.
"These should be cut to the bare minimum as companies prepare to meet the economic downturn," said Vavi. "Retrenchments must be used only as truly the last resort, when everything else - including elimination of wasteful expenditure and high executive pay - has been tried."
Num has described the Chamber of Mines' 6.5% salary increase proposal as a "non-offer" and raised the prospects of a strike.
It said it will return to negotiations once the offer is a better reflection of realities such as 14.9% food price inflation.
"The current stance reflects a bad attitude towards negotiations on the part of the Chamber of Mines, which has milked our members of energy," a Num statement said.
- Fin24.com