The fuel price adjustment that took effect on Wednesday has landed on a pricing mechanism that cannot move quickly, and the machinery behind the pump price is now under scrutiny from unions and parliamentarians alike. The argument is a familiar one about how South Africa’s fuel price is built: which components sit within the government’s control, which do not, and how fast any of it can actually change for households paying the bill.
The operational picture is straightforward. Fuel prices are made up of international factors plus domestic taxes and levies, including the General Fuel Levy and the Road Accident Fund (RAF) levy. The ANC Study Group on Minerals and Petroleum Resources has acknowledged that international factors contributed significantly to the latest increase, but it argues that taxes and levies remain within the government’s control, and it has called on the National Treasury to reconsider those charges. Its case is that revisiting these components could deliver relief to households facing higher commuting and food costs.
The RAF levy in particular has drawn renewed attention. Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said the government is reviewing the fund’s funding model because its liabilities have grown to more than R440 billion. She pointed to another structural pressure: the growing use of electric vehicles, whose owners do not contribute to the RAF through the existing fuel levy. In response, the government is considering a hybrid funding model. But Creecy was clear about the timeline. Changing the system would not provide immediate relief. The process would require further research, amendments to the RAF Act and consideration by Parliament, meaning any reworking of the levy sits well behind the current squeeze at the pumps.
For unions, the immediate question is what the increase does to workers’ ability to get to work and keep households running. National Union of Mineworkers spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said the increase would affect workers across sectors, particularly those who rely on private vehicles to commute. Many of those workers, he said, struggle to meet monthly expenses and cannot easily absorb another rise in commuting costs.
“Obviously, the high fuel prices will definitely affect them,” Mammburu said. “Some of our members are using their own cars and they don’t really earn a lot of money. Who can afford these high fuel prices?”
He warned that the impact would not stop at transport. Higher fuel costs could feed into food prices and other necessities, and households approaching the end of the year could also face higher education costs. “Once it affects the food prices, it will also affect the school fees for the children next year,” he said. “It also includes food prices and other basic necessities that everyone needs to survive.”
Meanwhile, the delivery mechanics of public transport add another layer. Operators face higher operating costs when fuel prices rise, which can push up taxi and other transport fares, meaning people without private vehicles are exposed too. Businesses dependent on road transport can also see costs climb, and those costs may eventually be passed on to consumers through higher prices.
Mammburu also tied the fuel increase to conditions on the ground in the mining industry, where some companies are replacing permanent employees with contractors. He said this often results in lower salaries and fewer benefits, leaving workers even less able to cope with rising household costs. He questioned whether wages are keeping up with the broader cost of living, noting that employers regularly raise affordability concerns during wage negotiations even as some companies benefit from strong commodity prices. He pointed to the gold sector, saying workers are not necessarily benefiting from higher international gold prices while executives continue to receive substantial bonuses, and argued that workers who generate the revenue should share in that performance.
Saftu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi framed the increase as part of a broader cost-of-living crisis affecting working households. He pointed to rising municipal costs in Johannesburg, including electricity, water, sanitation, refuse collection and property rates, arguing these increases are happening without corresponding wage increases. Vavi has called for the fuel levy to be scrapped and for greater wealth taxation to reduce the burden on working households.
For organised labour, the demand is that government and employers recognise the financial pressure on workers and take rising household costs into account in wage negotiations. “Everything has become so expensive,” Mammburu said. “When we go to wage negotiations, they must also think of that. They must not only think of their pockets. They must also stand for workers who are working hard.” As reported by the Mail & Guardian (https://mg.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-10-08-pump-pain-hits-workers-hard/), the gap between the pace of structural review and the speed of household costs is where the pressure now sits. Whether the Treasury acts on the levies before the RAF overhaul clears Parliament may decide how long that gap stays open.