Security companies must stop fleecing employees

…Labour Minister Joe Hamilton

OUTRAGED Labour Minister Joe Hamilton promised legal action against security companies
which are scamming their employees nationwide.
Mr. Hamilton met with executives of the umbrella Guyana Association of Private Security
Companies (GAPSO) to highlight his growing unease with security agencies underpaying
workers, chronically paying salaries late and discriminating against employees, especially
women, among other egregious conduct.
“I met with the umbrella body for security companies in Guyana because this is a burning issue,”
Minister Hamilton said.
The Minister patience with the errant companies is not yet exhausted and he is prepared to give
some more space to correct their behaviour. After that the heavily fallible security firms will be
exposed.
“I have issued a press release and I am alerting them that this matter is out there. If they don’t
pull themselves together the next press release that I will issue will name the companies and their
principals. Hopefully the name and shame will work,” Minister Hamilton suggested.
With women comprising a significant percentage of the local security workforce, Hamilton is
worried about the cascading effect on the families of these single parents and the aged, forced by
dire economic circumstances to seek employment.
He promised to overhaul the labour sector to help protect all interests of hard-working employees
against unscrupulous practices carried out by security agencies.
“We intend to review any systems and/or laws in place to address the many issues confronting
employees of these companies. Outside of that I quoted the law regarding payment and overtime
leave and all those things, so they are forewarned,” the Minister said.

The Labour is not sympathetic with companies’ complaints that late payments by the
government is to be blamed for their regular payroll snafus.
“The second issue is the observation that they are late in paying workers. They claim that the
government is their principal client and my response to them is that your relationship with
government has nothing to do with paying your workers on time. It’s not an excuse, you do what
you have to do to pay them and I hold them to that,” Minister Hamilton emphasised.
“I know every Region has an issue. I will take action and I have said to officers if I have to take
these companies to court every day for infringement, I will do so, so that we will see if they want
to pay the high-priced lawyers…every day for infringement,” the Minister noted.
He said that he will not allow security agencies to continue ripping off hapless employees
anxious to provide for themselves and families.
“I will do what has to be done legally (whether it’s against the) public or private (security)
industry,” Minister Hamilton said.