THE EDITOR – CAPE ARGUS re Minister Chabane

Dear Sir,

Your edition Monday 16^th March 2015 – “Sadness, Shock over Chabane” 

It is indeed a shock to hear of Honourable Minister Chabane’s untimely death.  It is especially shocking for the country as Minister Chabane was a key player in the forthcoming wage negotiations for the government workers.

The three year wage agreement with governmental workers comes to an end in less than two weeks.  Minister Chabane being a key player was the Minister in charge of public service and administration will be sorely missed.  The Minister was well placed as a key governmental negotiator.  Minister Chabane’s demeanour, personality and negotiation skills was to be the factors we in the public could rely on in trying to avoid a massive detrimental and negative governmental strike.  Should our government not reach a settlement with the trade unions this will probably be one of the most negative strikes for the sentiment of the international community.  Already our government has placed us in a situation being close to junk status but a strike of this nature will take us right down to the bottom of that slippery slope.  Hopefully the trade union movement will pay some respect to the fact that the governmental team is now missing the positive input of a key negotiator in the person of the late Minister Chabane.  One would expect the trade union movement to put off any threat of a strike until the governmental team is reconstituted. 

Best regards,

MICHAEL BAGRAIM
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT