TRADE union federation Cosatu has thrown its weights behind a campaign to take on private security companies which are not complying with an agreement to pay towards workers’ healthcare benefits.
Private sector security companies have been accused by unions of deducting monies amounting to over R50 million monies from over 30 000 workers but failed to pay the funds to a company appointed to administer the healthcare benefits programme.
The matter has been investigated by the Council for Medical Schemes and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority. But Cosatu has revealed it will now be adding its weight to the campaign by unions to hold companies to account. Cosatu is the biggest trade union federation and its involvement in the campaign is seen as a major boost to unions involved in the campaign.
“We are preparing a national march for all the security companies in South Africa. Many of the security companies in South Africa are not complying with all basic laws that they are supposed to do,” Cosatu general secretary Solly Phetoe said after a march on Maluti Security in Bethlehem, Free State this week.
Unions organising in the private security sector marched on Maluti Security on Tuesday to deliver a memorandum of grievances against its alleged failure to comply with the Main Collective Agreement.
Unions Abanqobi Workers Union (AWU), Kungwini Amalgamated Workers Union (KAWU), National Union of Metal Workers of SA (NUMSA) and the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) have been actively involved in a ‘payback campaign’ against non-compliant security companies since January.
“Like I said here the security company (Maluti Security) is not registered with PSIRA (Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority). The laws said they must be registered with PSIRA,” said Phetoe.
“Security workers must be trained, these issues include non-payment of salaries of workers properly according to the law, issues of benefits, issues of deducting monies of workers and you don’t pay it to where it’s supposed to pay it, to the third party- it’s unlawful, it’s criminal,” Phetoe said.
According to PSIRA there were 586,042 registered active security officers as at the end of March last year and 11,540 active registered private security businesses.
The payment of healthcare benefits to security guards stems from a March 2021 National Bargaining Council for the Private Security Sector (NBCPSS) collective bargaining agreement with employers and unions.
The NBCPSS is registered in terms of the Labour Relations Act and cites its primary aim and purpose as “to regulate, maintain and enforce the terms and conditions as set out in the Main Collective Agreement. The agreement stipulated that the scheme was to be administered by Affinity Health and workers were to pay a compulsory R250 monthly insurance, half of which was deducted from salaries.
The benefits include chronic disease management and medication, doctor consultations, hospital and casualty benefits, including an HIV and TB management programme.
Unions organising in the sector said over 30 000 workers were impacted by a failure by companies to comply with the agreement and that some companies deducted monies from workers but failed to pay to the relevant structures such as UIF and medical aid schemes.
In January the unions launched a campaign calling for non-compliant companies to pay back monies they have been deducting irregularly from workers and for government institutions to investigate and prosecute directors of such companies.
“So COSATU is working with all the unions that are here. We are going to take up the matter and make sure that the Minister of Labour responds, but also take it through the legal process for investigation,” Phetoe said.
Phetoe said non-compliance has been plaguing the private security industry for a long time and was investigated after the violent security guard strikes in 2008 and 2010.
“There was a national day strike of the securities. Two months ago there was a national day of the security strike in Northern Cape. We have started these things, the reason is why because the security companies that are unregistered are increasing and many of the security companies are now established and led by African black people. These white people just use them are frontees,” Phetoe said.
He laid part of the blame for the non-compliance issues on PSIRA, saying it was not playing its part.
“We are going to talk to Minister of Police because PSIRA is under Minister of Police. We are going to talk to the Minister of Labour because labour laws of all workers are administered under the Department of Labour. So all of them we are going to put them together and say why have they left these issues?” he said.
Phetoe said government departments showed a willingness to act on the issues in meetings with the federation but never follow up with action.
“Well, in the meetings there’s willingness [but] when we are done with the meeting it is the opposite. We meet with them, we agree on things, what they do is the opposite,” he said.
In the memorandum to Maluti the unions called for the company to register workers with the UIF, registration with the Private Security Sector Provident Fund, registration for health insurance, payment of levies to the Bargaining Council and payment of a minimum wage and overtime work.
They also called for payment of allowances such as national key point allowance to all qualifying employees. The unions warned they will engage Maluti’s clients with the view of encouraging them to terminate their contracts if the company fails to adhere to the memorandum.
Maluti representative Francois Botes said the company will investigate the allegations made by the unions and respond to the memorandum. Botes highlighted that compliance with regulations should be done in such a manner that it would force companies to shed jobs. – Mukurukuru Media
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