Security guards denied life insurance, benefits

Measly salaries incapacitate personnel, dependents associated with the high-risk job

LAHORE:

Given the unabated rise in the crime rate, there has been a growing trend of hiring private security guards, which has led to a proliferation of many unlicensed agencies - a majority of which deny job benefits to their self-sacrificing workforce.

In recent years, the hiring of private security guards by ordinary citizens and politicians alike, has become widely popular, with clients seeking security services for purposes ranging from domestic security to even guarding political rallies.

However, despite the Punjab Private Security Company Act of 2004, clearly specifying guidelines for the hiring of security guards, which includes providing them with health and life insurance, fixed salaries, retirement benefits and death benefits to their dependents, a significant number of security companies continue to operate without paying any heed to fulfilling their employment obligations.

“Even though the government has fixed our salaries at Rs 26,500, our hiring agency only pays us Rs 19,000 after taking its due commission. Fear of losing our job prevents us from filing a complaint with the Punjab Home Department,” regretted Muhammad Nawaz, a security guard employed by a private company.

However, Nawaz’s plight is not new, as according to the Punjab Home Department, out of the 360 security agencies operating in the province, the licences of over 70 have been revoked during the past two years, given their failure to provide fixed salaries, group insurance, old age benefits, and death benefits to their serving security guards.

Yet, the revocation of licences has not deterred security companies from breaking the law.

“The nature of our work is such that we never know when we might have to take our last bullet. In the event of any mishap, the company offers no financial compensation to our dependents, who are left in dire straits,” resented Sher Ali, a guard working at a bank, who implored the security companies to guarantee life insurance to all their workers.

In this regard, Mubashir Ahmed, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a security company, opined that providing life insurance to all 500 plus guards was not a cost-effective option for most companies.

“Currently, only 100 long-term employees are insured, while newly hired guards undergo a trial period before they can be entitled to receive life insurance,” remarked Ahmed without breaking a swear.

Given Ahmed’s revelation, The Express Tribune spoke to Fazal-ur-Rehman, the Special Secretary of the Punjab Home Department, on the denial of life insurance and job benefits to private security personnel. “The department has instituted a dedicated unit to monitor the recruiting and remuneration process of security companies, which regularly revokes the licences of agencies violating the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s),” replied Rehman.

“The Home Department receives at least five complaints per week from private security guards reporting issues like deducted payments, which are promptly addressed through our web portal,” he added. However, the veracity of Rehman’s assertion appears dubious given the experience of private security guards like Sarfraz Ahmed, with the web portal. “Whenever we file a complaint about deducted salaries through the Home Department’s web portal, our requests are consistently denied,” lamented Sarfraz, while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2^nd, 2023.