Security guards getting shafted

The following is an open letter to the Private Sector Of Jamaica (PSOJ) and the Government Of Jamaica:

Dear Editor,

I am a security officer for a reputable security firm for the past four years and this letter is in regard to the Clovis cartoon publication in the Jamaica Observer on Thursday, October 8, 2020.

Although it’s a cartoon I strongly agree with the statement from the security officer. For far too long security officers are frowned upon and we are the ones doing the most intense work of protecting life and property with little or no benefits, all while being poorly paid.

It is full time the PSOJ does something about this issue. Many officers have to fork out money from our own pockets to get health insurance and when joining a company it is stated in our contracts that we are entitled to health insurance, but that’s not the case; we are only given life insurance coverage.

Also, the time has come for the ‘contract work’ status to be abolished and officers placed on staff, because it doesn’t benefit us in any way if we are on contract, because on a yearly basis it is not guaranteed that we will have our contracts re-signed.

Security officers, on a whole, do not have any trade union representation to stand up for us, to my knowledge. Please, correct me if I’m wrong. I think that’s unfair to us as hard-working citizens of this country. We should not be denied the benefit of having representation in this type of profession.

I speak for every security officer in the country when I say we are underpaid, the workload is heavy, the conditions are awful at times, we endure disrespect on a daily basis, we work long hours and often lose our night’s rest risking our lives for the greater good of survival.

Another thing to note is that we are not paid for sick leave or vacation days whatsoever, and I believe that’s highly unfair to us.

I am calling on the Government of Jamaica and the PSOJ to look into these issues so that we, as security guards, can have a better future in this profession.

Concerned security officer