SPARE A THOUGHT FOR OUR SECURITY GUARDS

Sir,

I had to read the Times of Swaziland twice, the one which related how a group of security companies rushed to court in a bid to challenge the workers’ seven per cent salary increment and backpay.

I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Just when all security guards were punching their fists in the air at their long fight for victory for consideration by government to review their appalling salaries, their employers had the audacity to challenge what was long
overdue to them. Security guards are the most underpaid and abused, and they toil under stressful and dangerous employment conditions.

They work long hours, at the most a gruelling 12 hours; have to leave their places of abode in remote and crime infested areas in order to reach pick-up points for transport which is barely provided by some of their employers. Some are posted in remote and dangerous areas all in the name of protecting the assets of their employers’ clients.

They are at times treated as the scum of the earth by both their employers and the general public, yet they are doing an important job of providing security.
Many security companies pay their employees a paltry E1 500 with a maximum of around E2 000 after a three months probation period. Some, during probation, are paid cash and one wonders if statutory deductions are enforced as the law requires. For some employees, theirsalaries reflect a vast difference for the same number of days worked with their colleagues. Querying this anomaly is more often than not met with animosity by wages clerks and or superiors. Some employees end up giving up on what is rightfully theirs.

Going on due leave is a mammoth task; some spend months on the waiting list. Believe  me, I am talking from experience.
I ended up being one of the unfortunate ones and despised life for lack of employment opportunities in this country, where your education more often than not does not count. What matters most is how connected you are.
Security companies mostly employ the least educated, where their employers take advantage of their low levels of education.

Please don’t get me wrong; I am not unfairly indicting security companies and in no way crying wolf because I am no longer employed by a security company.
I left on my own volition because I couldn’t stand the ungodly working hours and poor working conditions. I wrote this letter to expose the inhuman treatment of some security guards by their employers. Some of our brothers and sisters cannot voice out their resentment because of fear of being victimised and are protecting their only meal ticket.

For those in our society who look down upon security guards with derision please do have empathy.
They are human and brilliant like you and me. Many are more educated than the average Swazi. I implore government to scratch beneath the surface and investigate the abject working conditions security guards are subjected to. To the employers, put your houses in order before you rush to court to stop a well deserved seven per cent increment by security guards. Spare a thought for your poor workers who toil under appalling conditions while you sleep in your snug beds at night.

Alex L Nxumalo

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