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The Citizen reports that security guards, the first line of defence for many South Africans, have come under increasing attack, with up to 300 security guards apparently killed in the line of duty annually.
But, the Association of Private Security Owners of SA (Taptosa) is convinced the number could be as high as 600, as many additional cases are not recorded as deaths on duty. Industry role players have also lamented that though the private security industry was the biggest after mining, there was scant regard to the industry, which has seen the mushrooming of exploitative and unscrupulous companies. According to Taptosa, the industry regulator, namely the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA), relied on private security companies for information on employees killed while on duty, but said this data was first sanitised to conceal non-compliance. Incidents of non-compliance include hiring foreign nationals and arming guards with firearms without competency certificates. Lebo Nare, Taptosa deputy president, said despite being the biggest industry after mining, the private security industry was probably also the most unscrupulous and exploitative, due to the lack of focus on the industry. He said the industry was twice the size of the SA National Defence Force and the SA Police Service combined, with government being the biggest consumer of private security services, but said it was the most overlooked. SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union shop steward Hamilton Ntonga said companies would go to any length to protect themselves from taking responsibility, sacrificing their own employees. “The security industry is rotten to the core and nobody cares. For instance, there is a grueling twelve hour shift, and it takes you about two hours to get to work, with paltry monthly salary of R5 500. Many do not even have guardrooms,” Ntonga claimed.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sipho Mabena at The Citizen (subscriber access only)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page