Johannesburg - Thousands of South Africans demonstrated in cities throughout the country Wednesday as a nationwide strike over the rising cost of living got under way.

The Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has called on its around 2 million members to stay away from work and join demonstrations in cities around the country.

Commuters were left stranded in Pretoria, Cape Town, Johannesburg and other cities as the minibus taxis that transport the masses ground to a halt in response to the strike call.

Schools in some places were also closed.

Car manufacturing was expected to be particularly affected by the strike.

Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors and other major manufacturers produce cars for the domestic and export markets in South Africa.

Wednesday's protest is the latest in a series of COSATU-organized rolling protests in recent weeks over the rising prices of food, fuel and electricity, particularly a 27-per-cent hike in electricity prices this year.

State electricity supplier Eskom says the increase is necessary to fund a 300-billion-rand (41-billion-dollar) expansion programme designed to end critical power shortages.

COSATU said Wednesday's strike was particularly aimed at drawing attention to the threat of retrenchments in the flagship mining and other sectors as a result of reduced electricity supply from Eskom. Eskom has ordered industry to trim power consumption to ease demand.

Some mining houses have already announced voluntary redundancies after Eskom slashed their power supply earlier this year, forcing them to cut back production. (dpa)