Fair wages for private security personnel
Published:Saturday | October 8, 2022 | 12:06 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
On September 23, Supreme Court Justice David Batts ruled that Marksman personnel are employees and not contractors.
Security officers as employees are now entitled to vacation and sick leave with pay. They are also now entitled pension as employees and to 40 hours per week. Anything over should be time and a half or double.
The private security industry is crucial to Jamaica, so clients who employ the services of these security firms should be happy that the security officers are happy.
Right now, even a labourer makes $3,000 ($375 per hour) per day in an eight-hour workweek, if a security officer is earning that amount in an eight-hour shift, there should be no complaints about the security firms being expensive. Currently, according to the Government, security officers’ minimum wage is $310 per hour or $2,480 for a 40-hour workweek. But all security guards are still being paid that rate instead of the $465 per hour for overtime. Hence, the 12-hour flat rate should currently be $362 per hour, not $310.
Security firms are trying to say that the security industry will not be able to survive because of this ruling. First and foremost, the security industry is a billion-dollar industry. Jamaica has a high crime rate, hence the security industry dying is far-fetched. The security officers hope to hear from Labour and Social Security Minister Karl Samuda and Shadow Minister Angela Brown-Burke on this development.
TEDDYLEE GRAY
Ocho Rios, St Ann