JOHANNESBURG (AFP) — Hundreds of trade unionists marched in South Africa's largest city on Thursday in a protest over rising food prices and the country's electricity crisis.
Around 1,500 demonstrators marched on a branch of retail chain Pick'n'Pay in Johannesburg city centre to demand a hold on food prices and an end to price-fixing.
"We call for a moratorium on food prices," said Violet Seboni, second vice-president of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, as she handed over the petition.
Senior general manager Kevin Korb said the company shared the concern among all South Africans. "This is not just a South African issue, it is a global issue," he told the protesters.
Rising inflation, which increased from 9.3 percent to 9.8 percent in February, and petrol costs have caused prices for basic goods such as bread, oil and milk to increase in South Africa in recent months.
Violent riots have broken out in other countries in recent weeks over similar rising food costs, including Argentina, Haiti, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Thailand, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Senegal and Egypt.
Demonstrators also visited the offices of national power supplier Eskom to protest at ongoing power cuts and the threat of major price hikes being considered to fund infrastructure improvement.
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