THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WOULD like to write about some of the problems I noticed affecting security guards in this country.
I worked with a security company for about two months in 2001. I later resigned because of the way the manager and other executive workers treated us security guards.
I am really wondering, why can't security guard companies in Jamaica be unionised? Security guards sometimes work for 48 or more straight hours without any time for sleeping. When security guards are doing extra hours, if any of their supervisors or any of their executive officers catch them sleeping, they withhold 24 or more hours of pay from their meagre salaries.
The managers of these companies find every little irrelevant reasons to withhold money from the small salaries these guards are working. They give them portable radios which are mostly malfunctioning. If they make radio checks and the guards with the malfunction radios do not answer they withhold money out of their meagre salaries. If a guard is sick for a day and he calls in and reports that he is sick, that does not save him from losing money which he had worked already.
One company I know, when the manager wanted a sum of money, he planned an officers' meeting, which guards must attend if they are not on duty. If a guard worked the night before the meeting and he did not attend the meeting because he wanted to sleep, he was charged about two days' pay out of his meagre salary.
I want the Ministry of Labour to check up on these security companies around the country and stop these managers who are mostly rich individuals, from depriving these desperate security guards.
I am, etc.,
BYRON MURRAY
Warsop
Trelawny
