The Chronicle

BULAWAYO, Tuesday, August 8, 1995 — Guards in Bulawayo earn “peanuts” while the dogs they lead get hefty pay packages.

That is the claim made by some security guards in the city yesterday.

Guards at one company claimed that guard dogs are paid an allowance of $300 a day, while a security guard gets 40c a day. The money is allegedly to meet the dogs’ frequent medical bills and to buy food for the animals.

The guards said while the dog is ferried in a company vehicle to a veterinarian when it falls sick, the guards are not assisted by the company in the same circumstances. They added that the highest amount of money they got as a loan from the company to meet funeral expenses was $50.

The guards said that they had been threatened with dismissal when they tried to raise these issues with their bosses and claimed that their workers’ committee was “powerless”.

The guards are also not happy about having to buy used boots and uniforms from the company which collects uniforms for resale.