As is the case with any other organisation or a business which has to sustain the services and benefits to members, we also need to budget. While we are grateful to announce that the union's financial position is still sound, thanks to superb financial management and stringent cost control, there are many costs that are beyond our control, such as electricity and water tariffs, municipal rates and taxes, rent, fuel, etc. We need not tell you how these have escalated during the past year.

In preparing our budget we have been able to keep a membership subscription increase to an absolute minimum while we will still be able to continue to offer our valued members the quality of service delivery in 2012 that they expect and deserve.

As a consequence, UASA’s Management Committee proposed an increase in membership fees from R68 to R73 per month, which the National Executive Committee duly approved at its meeting held on 4 November 2011. The increase will be implemented w.e.f. the February 2012 pay month. The increase equates to a R1,38 per week increase for our weekly paid members.

As a matter of courtesy we inform our members well in advance and for their own budgetary purposes of the increase, and trust that members will be grateful that the increase could be kept to an absolute minimum, thanks to the tight-fisted financial control of the union's affairs.

Members may rest assured that UASA will continue unabated to keep costs down, while continually striving for service excellence in everything we do.