Fawcett workers protest low wages
SECURITY guards at one of Zimbabwe’s leading security companies, Fawcett, yesterday staged a demonstration at the company’s main offices in Belmont, Bulawayo, complaining over low earnings while accusing management of being insensitive to their plight.
The workers refused to be deployed to their designated workstations, demanding that their wages be increased in line with prevailing inflation patterns.
A Chronicle news crew visited the company’s premises at around 9AM where workers expressed their disgruntlement saying they were incapacitated to perform their duties. The workers vowed that if their grievances are not addressed, they will not be able to go back to work.
“We are a high-risk sector and we demand a living wage,” fumed one of the workers who declined to be named.
National Employment Council (NEC) for the security industry in the negotiating committee who was representing workers, Mr Nduna Dlala, said their engagement with Fawcett management at the negotiating table had reached a stalemate.
He said the employer only offered to increase the conversion side of their salary, which is US$155 and is paid at an interbank rate using the official rate of the first week of the month.
“Our employers in the security sector are not very sensitive to the plight of a security guard. The reason why I’m saying this is because the US$155 they are paying employees is very little as it cannot afford a guard a basic accommodation nor can it afford to buy adequate food and transport fee to return back to work,” said Mr Dlala.
“This US$155 is paid at the official interbank rate of the first Tuesday of the month and also adding 10 percent of it. We rejected that because it does not uplift the standard of the worker in the security industry because the wage remains very low.”
Mr Dlala claimed that security companies are making huge sums of money at the expense of poor security guards.
“The workers are adults with children but they are not even affording to pay for a room, which has a minimum cost of US$50,” he said. “These guards are paid US$103 as a basic wage and if their contracts are to be terminated today all other benefits are calculated on that base, meaning to say a security guard who served a company for probably 35 years cannot go out with a US$200 benefit”.
Mr Dlala said workers were demanding US$329 inclusive, where US$230 will be a basic wage, housing allowance of US$80 as well as transport allowance.
Private Security Workers Union secretary general, Mr John Manyuchi, who was also at the scene, said workers were frustrated by the poor wages. “Even if these security guards are dismissed today, it is as good as they were not employed as their gratuity may not exceed US$200,” he said.
Fawcett regional manager Mr Mayton Banda declined to comment. —chronicle
