Hundreds of security companies including some contracted to the Mpumalanga Provincial Treasury, are under fire for failing to provide their workers with agreed upon benefits despite deducting millions of rands from their salaries.
The memorandum was delivered on behalf of security officers and in dispute of non-compliance by security companies on the Private Security Sector Provident Fund (PSSPF) and the National Bargaining Council for Private Security Sector (NBCPSS).
The march was supported by the Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU), the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the African National Congress (ANC) both nationally and provincially.
The NBCPSS was established in terms of section 27 of the Labour Relations Act, No. 66 of 1995 (as amended) (LRA).The Main Collective Agreement was gazetted and extended to non-parties in terms of section 31 of the LRA on 17 February 2020 by the Minister of Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi.
An amended agreement extending the Main Collective Agreement to 28 February 2027 was subsequently gazetted. In terms of the Main Collective Agreement all employers, by virtue of the extension to non-parties by the Minister, are required to register and fully comply with the Main Collective Agreement.
Compliance with the Main Collective Agreement amongst other things includes registration with the Private Security Sector Provident Fund (PSSPF) as well as the NBCPSS Health Insurance, administered by Affinity Health. The Collective Agreement also entails that basic salary is agreed upon allowances and overtime and the compliance with the Main Collective Agreement in terms of payment of levies.
In terms of the Main Collective Agreement, all security companies must contribute R172 per month for each security officer they employ with the security officer contributing the balance, however the majority of security companies employed by the state do not pay over these premiums to the designated service provider.
Currently there are 462 non-compliant security companies operating with gay abandon in Mpumalanga. According to SATAWU National Security Coordinator for the Security Sector, Philemon Bhembe, many of such companies are also charged with protecting government departments including National Key Points.
“This is a sophisticated way of stealing from the workers, as these money remains in the balance sheet where it ends up in the pockets of greedy bosses and their operatives as dividends and bonuses, respectively. As the Acting Joint of the security sector we have noted that Mpumalanga Treasury continues to do business with companies that are not paying according to the main agreement of the NBFPSS which was amended and signed in 2022, aimed to serve until 2027 and it sets the benchmark entry level salary to be R5700.” – news@mukurukuru.co.za
